Euphoric
by Agent Glitch
Summary: It's been a rather average life for Mo. But when he meets a talented young boy and takes the kid home with him, he realizes that he finally found his buried diamond and uncovered its true potential. But he knows there's a reason for the protégé to choose his name, and, throughout their days together, he intends to uncover that reason. A take on Hi-Def's origins. Not yaoi-fic.
1. Once Forlorn, Never Again

**Ello everyone! Yes, yes, another of the many stories of the origins of Hi-Def. Don't blame me, I just wanted to share a little of what I'd have liked this story told by. Care to R&R? Thanks!**

**Also, this isn't yaoi. I'm not against it, but I can't write it either. I've always envisioned Glitch as Mo's adopted brother before I heard of FanFiction. Sorry about that.**

**And I'm sorry if there were any storyline mistakes. I don't have DC1, DC2 nor DC3, so if you spot a mistake please tell me. Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dance Central.**

**So, first chapter, in Mo's PoV.**

**Update: I set up a prologue, so enjoy :)**

_Prologue: What He Came To Be_

At the DCI Headquarters, we were having another dance-off. Glitch was battling head-on, dancing to the hardest songs ever, including Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor) and OMG on hard.

Now, he was dancing to Lights by Ellie Goulding; a song he had taken reluctantly at first. The DCI would have given it to Oblio, but the blue-haired dancer had not proved himself honest when he claimed that he had nothing to do with his father's plans. Now they accepted Oblio as a part of Dance Central, but they let Glitch keep the song. Still, now Glitch was happy with the role of the song's default dancer.

As I watched, he moved without hesitation, and his eyes glowed. Both he and I were in our DCI outfits, of course, and his shiny, treasured black watch was on his left wrist, as always. His matching suspenders clacked as they bounced off of his legs. The purple highlight on his hair stood out against the black strands.

When he danced, he showed everyone a hidden side of him. His skills were somewhat aeonian. In other words, never-ending. Continuously moving forward, chasing his dreams until the end.

Then he danced to Euphoria by Usher, one of his favorites. It was difficult, but to him it was easy. I heard some of the lyrics, and I knew that so many of them matched him so well, even though he had yet to tell me the story of his past. I listened to the song as it boomed off of the speakers.

_Cause the fire don't fear the water_

_And the night don't fear a thief_

Every time I hear these words, I remember my own addition to them. _The system don't fear a Glitch. _He could pose a threat, and yet the DCI were sensible enough to let him be a part of them. A Glitch was one thing they needed. It was something everyone needed, in time.

_And you're glowing from inside_

_Like the dawn is in your eyes_

_And I see it for the first time_

He glowed alright, the stars only a candle compared to his raging inferno. Electronic in his moves, his eyes sparked, like when I first saw them, when I first met him...

_Once the music sets you over_

_Here we are, we are, we are, we are, we are_

As the music sets him into a string of moves that he memorized by heart, he began to dance like he'd never danced before, with soulful effort clear in him. Even Rasa eyed the kid appreciatively.

"He really looks up to you," said Angel, who stood with his arms crossed next to me. And as I heard his words, I noticed how much Glitch had changed, from what he used to be, a demure, listless, helpless kid, to this... this talented, brave young breakdancer. "Yes... yes, he does," I murmured. "Hi-Def is lucky to have him."

_Here we are, we are, we found euphoria!_

Once we were done, and the party was ended, we withdrew from the Headquarters and walked back home. Glitch looked very pleased with the day, and so was I. Together we walked home in complete silence. His eyes were distant and he was visibly thinking about something. I respected his time and led him home, a hand on his shoulder to steer my brother.

I entered my apartment, opening the door and watching as the protégé absently stepped inside before I shut the door. Glitch ran up the stairs and I followed. He grabbed his mp3 player from his room and had the headphones around his neck. "Hey," he said. "I just found this song here, though ya might like it."

"Oh?" I called, and he disconnected the headphones from the mp3 player and selected the song. Again, I listened closely to the lyrics. _Wonder why he likes it, _I thought.

_Am I wrong for thinking out the box from where I stay?_

_Am I wrong for saying that I'll choose another way?_

Glitch smiled knowingly at me. I knew that these lyrics were like the questions he had longed to ask me. Perhaps he was right. Even if he did things differently, that didn't mean he was wrong. He would do things his way, and walk through his own path. It was his choice, and I was only an advisor.

_I ain't trying to do what everybody else doing_

_Just cause everybody doing what they all do_

Glitch was a rule breaker sometimes, and he was unique, eccentric, and colorful. He wouldn't follow anyone just because everyone's doing the same thing.

_If one thing I know, how far would I grow?_

_I'm walking down this road of mine, this road that I call home_

Glitch would ponder the days we spent as brothers ever since we met. He followed his own road, probably at two hundred miles per hour nonstop.

_So am I wrong for thinking that we could be something for real?_

_Now am I wrong for trying to reach the things that I can't see?_

I realized that this song had a point. When Hi-Def was new to Dance Central, it seemed that the crew was just a dream, a reverie only a hairsbreadth away. Something we knew we couldn't reach, and yet we still struggled to bring it to life. And eventually, we did.

_But that's just how I feel, that's just how I feel_

_That's just how I feel trying to reach the things that I can't see_

Glitch was a dreamer sometimes, setting his limits far too high for his own good. His goals were misty and unclear, but he reached them nevertheless.

_Am I tripping for having a vision?_

_My prediction; I'mma be on the top of the world_

He really did set his limits highly. But, in a way, he was one of the few who stood on top of the world of dancing.

_Hope you, hope you don't look back, always do what you decide_

_Don't let them control your life, that's just how I feel_

Glitch was a sole dancer in ways, careful to let few convince him that his hopes would not come true. Sure, he had a weak spot, even if I didn't know what it was, but other than that he was strong as steel.

_Fight for yours and don't let go, don't let them compare you, no_

_Don't worry, you're not alone, that's just how we feel_

Some of these words were things I would have told my young protégé. We weren't alone, we had many to help steady us, even though they could be our rivals in a heartbeat.

_So am I wrong for thinking that we could be something for real?_

_Now am I wrong for trying to reach the things that I can't see?_

_But that's just how I feel, that's just how I feel_

_That's just how I feel trying to reach the things that I can't see_

_If you tell me I'm wrong, wrong_

_I don't wanna be right, right_

_If you tell me I'm wrong, wrong_

_I don't wanna be right_

_So am I wrong for thinking that we could be something for real?_

_Now am I wrong for trying to reach the things that I can't see?_

_But that's just how I feel, that's just how I feel_

_That's just how I feel trying to reach the things that I can't see_

"If you like, Mo, I can tell you about what my life used to be like..." offered Glitch, his green orbs seemingly lighting up the dim room. "But first, I'd like to see your point of view."

Gladly, I told him what our story was, told in my own point of view.

"It was just another day at the subways..."

_Chapter One: Once Forlorn, Never Again_

It was just another day at the subways. Lots of people, crowds, trains, and all that stuff. Someone yelled, "I'm here!" before I saw another person run over and the two greeted each other. Not me. I had no one to greet. Perhaps back at Dance Central, but not here. I was walking around again; I had just stepped off the last train.

I managed to make my way through the rows of people and pushed myself over to the emptier sections of the subway before I got to the alternative streets. I liked to get home through there because, occasionally, I could meet my friends, maybe catch Angel and the new 'chica' of his, Aubrey.

They would usually take the main roads, but nowadays I often caught them cruising in some pricey car pretty much everywhere, probably making sure _everyone _saw them show off. Speaking of which, the two were lucky enough to make their own crew. I wasn't surprised when they called it the Lu$h crew. Most of the dancers were beginning to come up with crews, and nowadays it was becoming a virtue to be a part of Dance Central. I knew I needed to make one too, but somehow I just couldn't find that buried diamond.

I was going to jog back to my lonely apartment again, and I would have if not for the poster caught underneath my shoe. I shook my leg but it wouldn't come off. _Huh, _I thought, _probably wet or something. _I bent down to peel it off.

_Oof! _Suddenly, something barreled into my left side, almost enough to knock me over. I caught myself with my right hand, pushing me back up to my rebalanced legs. I whipped myself around to see what had crashed into me.

A younger kid, probably around fourteen, was sprawled on the floor, but he didn't look badly hurt. He got up, grunting. When he realized I was watching, he fidgeted. "Sorry," he blurted out, his voice croaky and rough as if he hadn't spoken for days. While he spoke, I was just studying him top to bottom. He looked messy, his hair a mop of black on his head. His lips were cracked and his skin dry. There was something on his left wrist; a black watch. His clothes dusty, shoes almost torn apart.

I caught myself. "It's okay, kid." He nodded gratefully. I looked at him again. He was skinny, but well-built and he looked pretty strong. Bright green eyes. I began to wonder what such a kid would be doing here. "What's your name?" I asked curiously. He looked downwards and didn't reply. "Hey, it's okay," I said, trying to reassure him. He refused to say anything more. "Come on." I tried again, but he wouldn't speak. "Fine, if that's it. But you don't look okay. Do you want to come with me? I think I can treat you a meal. You look like you haven't had one for ages."

He brightened at that. "Ya don't mind–" he stumbled into a fit of coughing. A rush of protectiveness ran through me and I caught him. His coughs were ragged and he looked to be in very bad shape. "Of course I don't mind," I said quickly, "now come before you get any worse. A glass of water will prove itself good for you," I suggested. The kid coughed again, and within those violent convulsions I saw him nod.

The trip home was rather tense. It was a fifteen-minute walk down the roads, and it was getting colder and colder. We were slowed down by Angel, who just _had _to come over at the worst time possible, or so I thought. When he saw the kid he went all hyper and beckoned for us to get into his car. We leapt in first chance and finished the trip in record time. Soon the kid began to calm down and his breaths were coming in smooth, not panting like before.

I jumped out of Angel's car just as he pulled up. He didn't even have time to turn the car off. Then we guided the kid down into my kitchen. I got him the water as I had promised, and he gulped it down like a drinker does wine. He soon relaxed, and the tension in his muscles finally loosened. "I don't think I can thank ya'll for dis," he murmured. His eyes had lost focus and his eyelids drooped. Angel smiled. "No worries, _chico_." Then he looked as if he had just remembered something important. "Oh, and my name's Angel, by the way."

That made me want to slap myself for forgetting to tell him my name. If the kid wouldn't tell his, it wouldn't hurt for me to tell mine first, right? "And I'm Mo," I said, trying to hold back a laugh at my own forgetfulness.

At that, his eyes shot open again. "Angel? From the Lu$h crew?" I jolted at his knowledge. "I've heard o' ya. And yer Mo from Dance Central." Angel turned around and smiled. "Yup, we're dancers all right. How did you know?"

He muted again. I tried to get him talking. "How about I get you a jacket? You look frozen." Outside, the sun had gone, and the sky was dark as a crow's feather. The kid just nodded and I rushed upstairs. Grabbing my tiger hoodie, I snatched a scarf and stumbled back down. The kid was on the couch, and Angel was showing off again. He did a number of dance moves. I rolled my eyes.

"Really, Angel." He froze mid-step at my comment, and I tossed him the jacket and scarf before he could object. He caught them and handed then to the kid. I let out a muffled groan. Was it that hard to wrap a jacket around the kid's shoulders?

The kid looked apologetic. "Ya don't have ta do this," he pleaded, his accent a small matter now, "I can go if ya don't want m' here," and he set the jacket down. I ran forward. "No, no, no, it's okay, kid, it's okay." With that, he sighed and said something almost inaudible. I couldn't make a single word out.

Angel took his leave soon afterwards, noting for me to call him about the kid's wellbeing tomorrow. I waved my goodbye and thanks. The kid was left bewildered. "Never thought I'd run into ya and 'im," he said. "Maybe some luck's struck m' at last."

"What?"

He shook his head. "Nothin' much, jus' never expected dancin' ta finally come ta m'life." A soft glow brushed against his eyes, which were half-hidden in his black bangs. "I've always wanted t'be a dancer."

I jolted with surprise. "A dancer?" He hesitated, then said, "I've been practicin' for a while now..."

I wondered what sort of a dancer he would be. I realized how he could still have such a figure, even though he was so thin. _He must have practiced every day, _I thought. "What sort of dancing?" I demonstrated a move. His eyes went wide. "Pop-it-lock-it n' all, but I wouldn't be as good as ya," he responded vaguely. That caught my interest. "Really now?" I silently doubted this kid's talent, but there was determination in his eyes. But, the kid was unwell. It would be unwise to make him do difficult moves.

He obviously thought otherwise, pushing himself upright and moving over to a space between me and the couch. Then he took a deep breath and I saw his right leg swung upwards all of a sudden. I didn't know whether his foot touched his nose or not, because he pulled the leg down again so fast. It was a graceful start to his next move: a front flip. That caught me off guard for a moment, and it was hard to believe that this was the same boy that crashed into me earlier.

Before I knew it he was breakdancing on the floor, moving to his own beat. I could see flaws here and there, yes, but they were small compared with his efforts. I gave up and picked a remote that just happened to be there. I turned up a song: Yeah! by Usher. And the song was what got the kid into groove. "Yeah!" he hollered, his voice different from before. Now it was a gleeful, joyful exclaim. I saw him do more of his moves.

I wasn't convinced that he could make it through the song at first, when he was still at the VIP Low Key move. But as the song continued and the first chorus rang out, I could see potential. He did the Lean Open move flawlessly, then began moving his hands and feet along with the rhythmic beat, and I recognized the move Longboard Breaker. The only moment where he looked confused was at Warbear. I couldn't blame him. It was a difficult move, after all. Other than that, he did the moves easily. He made it to Slam, then Push Back, The Bump, and the music faded into the stillness of the surrounding air.

A huge grin spread across his face and he held his finishing move with a flourish. I saw him laugh. "That was m' best performance. I don't do it that good jus' every day." The playfulness in his eyes betrayed the fact that he was much, much happier than he looked. He sat down again, puffing slightly.

The next song that played was Sexy Chick by David Guetta featuring Akon. One of the hardest. And yet he got up and did it. The moves at the beginning were easier, like Javelin. Then the moves became challenging, like Ice Breaker, Tender Hearted, and Bows Up. Then he did Color Guard, moving like a techno robot, but then he did the rest of the moves normally. Then it was Hater Duster and Rocking Horse, which were slightly harder. Then Bow, which was relatively easy.

I noticed a change in the dance; he was doing freestyle now. A mix of moves that were mostly of breakdancing, but he still kept with the beat. I felt the urge to dance along, but I had wanted to assess his skills.

He finished with an exaggerated bow. He tilted his head upwards, eyes shining like stars. I saw mischief. He laughed at his success and dropped down the the couch. His breathing was fast and he appeared to be exhilarated. I sat down next to him. "You were amazing back there." He didn't say anything to follow my compliment, but I knew he was probably very happy inside.

I got up. "Want something to eat?"

He grinned. "Ice cream?" He threw a pleading glance at me. I laughed. "Of course. You deserve it, after such a dance." I wasn't prepared for his next antic. He actually shot out of the couch like a cannon, almost pushing me into a wall. I jumped back just in time, and his arm flew harmlessly in front of my eyes. "Oops," he mumbled ruefully, "sorry."

I couldn't help but scratch his head. "Come on, kid." I led him to the fridge. Unfortunately, he dove in headfirst before me and dug into my collection. Yes, I had spent quite a long while scraping for all the possible ice cream flavors I could get, and now they were being eaten there and then. Well, at least someone enjoyed it. It was an unexpected turn of the tables. I grabbed the ice cream bowl and threw it back into the fridge. "That's too much for you. You need something warm to eat. I'll get you something."

Ten minutes later, he was chewing on a pizza and I was covered in cheese. I shook my head slowly. This kid needed some rules set.

Then I weighed the odds again. "Mo, get a hold of yourself. What possessed you to take a random kid home?" I knew it wasn't wise to talk to myself, but if a kid magically turned up at your doorstep, and he just _happened _to be an awesome dancer, what would you do? Besides, the kid was too engrossed with his pizza to listen to me. "He's just a kid... it won't do harm if he stays overnight, right? And he dances so good..."

It was true enough, the kid really _was _a dance expert. Some sort of dance prodigy. A real pop-it-lock-it breakdancer. Like me. A dancer with potential. Like me.

Somehow, I had gone from taking care of what was probably a kid who would stay overnight to thinking of the similarities he and I had. He was like a small, green-eyed, ice-cream-loving version of me. Not that I didn't like ice cream, it was just his reaction to the food that surprised me.

And my thoughts were getting more and more off topic. I shook myself back to the present and concentrated on peeling cheese off of me. It was all over me, my hoodie, and a section of the kitchen itself was drowning in blackened cheese. I wouldn't have done the job so messily if the kid hadn't bugged me the entire time.

Sighing, I decided to take a shower. The smell of cheese and pepperoni on me was becoming increasingly unbearable. A downing of warm water put me at a more relaxed environment. It was done all too soon, and I needed to check on the kid again. Newly clothed, I returned to see him again. Then I decided to get him changed too. After a while of digging for my smaller clothes, I managed to find a once-forgotten, discarded T-shirt and a pair of jeans.

Through one way or another, the kid was still lingering on the couch, but the pizza was gone. At least the table was clean. _He knows a little discipline, _I thought gratefully. Even the kitchen was spotless. I didn't know where he put all the cheese. He must have felt responsible.

It still bothered me that he refused to tell me his name. Anyone would have their reasons, but if I was looking for a dancer, and if he was the gold, gold would be nothing without a reason to show it off. If he really wanted to hide it from me... it was his choice. He could take a dancing name if that was what he wanted. I didn't mind. But perhaps I was thinking too far. Perhaps his dancing was a fluke, like he said. And yet... I could feel the fire that burned within him... the air rushing through him.

Perhaps luck had made its way to me as it did to him.

I smiled at the thought. The grin didn't last long, however. I went over to him and wrinkled my nose at the tang of cheese, heavy and making me feel nauseous. Oddly enough, the boy didn't seem bothered by the smell. _Kids will be kids, _I mused dryly. "How do you cope with that smell in the air?" I asked.

He looked up and shrugged. I scowled. "Well, you're going to help me clear the air," I commanded, trying to act like an older brother. It didn't work. He just stared at me as if I was speaking in a different language. "Kid, come _on. _This smell would last here forever."

With that, he heaved a sigh and went deeper into my apartment. He came out with a spray in his hand. "How did you find that?" I felt dumbfounded.

His face looked blank. "Did'ya have any idea how long ya took that bath?"

"Oh." I didn't really count the time. I didn't like the idea of him skulking around my place either, though. Just how far had he gone? I tried to shake the nagging feeling off as I took the spray bottle from his hand and aimed at the couch. Soon the air smelt better and I could relax again. I told the kid to change, handed him the clothes, and told him where he could find a towel. I was so tired, even after he was done. I let out an amused snort when he came in with his newly changed clothes, with his hair almost blocking his eyes. He tried to brush them off. I was tired, so I bent down to rest again.

On the other hand, the kid had a lot of pent-up energy.

"Can ya teach m' a dance move?"

"Teach you?" I grunted. "You're a good dancer, you don't need much help, you know?"

"Yeah, but it's hard to practice when all ya do is look at them from a distance like I did."

He caught me by surprise. I wanted to ask, "_That _was all you could do to learn dance?" but I knew he would tuck his chin into his neck, set his gaze on his shoes, and stay quiet. Instead, I questioned, "What are you trying to say?"

"That it's easier to mirror the dancer in front o' ya. Y'can do each move mirrored, right?"

"Well, yeah..." I trailed off. "But you're exhausted." I lied. He was practically bursting with energy. I decided to rest for a while. "You should get some rest while you've got the chance, kid."

A mutter of disbelief came from him, followed by the sentence, "Wait, ya really lettin' m' stay 'ere?"

I turned my head. "Of course," I replied, puzzled. Did he really think I would throw him outside my door?

He ducked his head. "Thank you," he murmured. Then he glanced at me with newfound humor. So I'm yer freeloader now, eh?"

I tossed him a smile back. "Starting tonight, yes. Starting tomorrow, you'll be my protégé as well."

Whoa. I didn't mean that at the time, but the words just popped out of my mouth. And the reaction I got was priceless. The kid's mouth dropped open and he looked at me blankly, as if I had told him that I was Spiderman. Nevertheless, I couldn't help but stifle a soft laugh. "Ya mean it? Your protégé? As in apprentice?"

"Well, yeah. I could teach you all you want to know. As much as I hate to say it, I saw you with a little trouble spot with that Warbear move."

I had expected him to look crestfallen. No, instead he flashed me a then-why-aren't-you-doing-anything-about-it look and glanced sideways at me. "Well, it's a hard move... can't 'cha show m'how t'do it?"

"Not today. If you're going to be my protégé, I need your name. Obviously." I wondered about how he would react. I expected him to walk away, just like that. The past seemed to be painful to him... and so I refrained from asking. He would tell me when he wanted to.

He gazed at me. His green eyes were both happy and sad. I couldn't tell what he was thinking of. For a brief moment, I feared that he would leave. I didn't want that. The thought of Angel learning that the kid left made me queasy.

But he didn't leave. He just got up and smiled. He looked to be considering something for a moment. I couldn't blame him for taking long. A name was one of the important virtues of a dancer. Seemingly by chance, though, he probably already thought of what he wanted as a name.

Euphoric, he said, "Call me Glitch."

**Whew! Well, that took longer than expected. To all you readers, would you like the next chapter in Mo's or Glitch's PoV? **

**I've also thought of a couple scenarios of Glitch's past. So, I want to see your opinions. What would be best?**

**a) he was treated badly by his family, causing him to do self-abuse;**

**b) could not remember anything about his family, possibly because of amnesia, but never got the memory back;**

**c) was simply dumped by his parents or family;**

**d) ran away due to the death of an important family member(s)?**

**I won't be making this into a poll, I just wan to see your opinions so that I can choose what happens next. Thanks!**

**Update: Thanks to those who gave me their opinions, including my cousin :)**


	2. Lurking Among The Dark

**So, because I only had an answer for my question from my cousin, I've decided to follow the a-scenario. And I thank you for the reviews!**

**SrslyWTFdudez xD, thank you for reviewing! Yes, I know Angel uses Spanish sometimes... I don't know how I could have forgotten to put it in here :/ oh well, you'll see more of him in the coming chapters. And he'll be speaking Spanish-English, hopefully. Again, thanks for reminding me :)**

**Nikikris, I appreciate the time you've taken to wrote a quick review. Yes, I will keep up my work as you said, of course! I will put all I've got into this while I can.**

The name startled me. The radiation of exhilaration from him inspired me. The boldness of his choice strengthened me. And one thing... the very _euphoria _I felt from him.

Glitch. Glitches, the first thing you'd remember would be a short circuit. Or a techno error. Sophisticated and new. Futuristic. Revolutionary. The complete opposite of myth and fantasy.

It reminded me of his breakdancing. He was a pop-it-lock-it breakdancer, and songs he would be suitable with would be similar to his chosen name.

There was Satisfaction, a song that played itself in my head right away. Then I smiled. In that very song was a move called none other than Glitch itself.

The song he'd danced to before, Yeah! fitted him too. The song had a trigger to it; I knew it did. And he looked amazing when he did Longboard Breaker. The electrolytic reverie in his eyes when he did it. Moving along with the beat.

Then there was I Wish For You by EXILE... a Japanese song that I was rather fond of. Somehow, I felt like this would be a suitable song as well. I could imagine him dancing to it already.

Mai Ai Hee by O-ZONE, now _that _was a simple warmup song that matched him. Not only was it easy, it had the beat that I knew he would like. I didn't know why, but I always had a soft spot for foreign language songs.

One last song that replayed in my head was just that; Replay by Iyaz. I depicted him doing the song and joined it with an image of a dance background. And it fit like a puzzle piece.

"_Glitch." _I considered it for a moment. In more than one way, it was perfect. It was many things all in one. An illustration of him. An image of his past, even though all I knew about it was that he had _nothing; _nothing but his dance skills.

Then I turned back to him – Glitch – and realized that he wasn't there. Concerned, I peered into the back of my apartment. He wasn't there. I dashed upstairs, my feet flying in whirls. I pushed the door to my room open. I saw my bed, my desk, my laptop – no Glitch. My mind reeled as I tried to recall what I had said to him. Then I remembered. When I had sent him to change, I had told him of a spare room in the house. It was completely empty except for a mattress; the ideal place for him to go.

"Glitch?" I called. "Glitch? Hey, kid?" And, sure as heck, he was there. When I had opened the door, his head had been hanging down low, his back hunched. Once I had called to him, he flailed around to meet my worried eyes. I could see his right hand, which was gripping his left wrist, which had a watch on it ever since he came here, protectively, but I didn't ask him any questions. I waited for him to speak first.

"You don't like it, do you?" His voice was raspy, and he spoke so slowly that I couldn't detect any trace of his accent. He broke eye contact with me, focusing on the floor. Ephemeral as it was, his words were enough to convince me that he himself was unsure of the name. An image of his earlier confidence conjured up in my head; I eliminated the thought before it went any further. And even though my heart cringed, I refrained from probing him further about the name.

"What?" I already knew what he would answer with, but I let him reply for me.

"Glitch. Ya don't like it, huh?" He sighed deeply.

I knew it would have been futile to try, but I just _had _to help him. "You know you're lying to yourself when you say those things, Glitch. Don't even try to fool me." I attempted to encourage him. "You know you are. And even if you choose Glitch as your name, then so be it. Your moves are flawless, adroit, unbeatable, and everything in between. And did you ever consider how good you were at breakdancing? I think I'd be blown away if you could do something just as good as dancing!"

He laughed softly. "Well, I do get along with skateboarding."

I grinned. "Then I'd be flying at a hundred and ninety six miles per hour, caught in the wind of your talent."

Then he shoved me. "Dude, talent is no cyclone."

Shouldering him gently, I comforted him further. "Then it was the wind of your ambition. It ain't no old zephyr, no, it was the tornado that blew Dance Central towards you."

"Then it's a wonder why the kid's ain't flyin' kites 'round 'ere," he played along.

His lightening spirit was like fire, and my apartment was in ashes. "They're scared of getting hit by flying debris. Like maybe a tree ripped out of the ground."

Trapped in a labyrinth of wordplay, he described the scheme and its details again. "This place could have Lady Liberty's torch sticking out of it, then."

"The moon would be at Kansas."

"What, has the Earth's gravity become ten times stronger?"

"Yeah, yeah."

He took advantage of my humorous air. "Then why don't 'cha get m' a skateboard? Maybe then the real fire will burn and the sky would fall."

Unfortunately for him, I still had self-control amid my mirth. "Nice try, bro. It doesn't work that way, though. If you really want to be my protégé, you'll need to work for it. And we need to think up our crew name and outfits."

Well, _now _he looked crestfallen. But the look on his face was different from before; it was like he was in heart-rending pain before, like he was trapped in a world with no escape. Now he just looked like a kid denied from using his money on a useless toy... which he provably was.

"Aw, come on, bro. Don't 'cha know what it feels like when ya can't have what ya want when it's jus' an inch from yer reach?" His face screwed up in the best pleading face I've seen in my life. It was so hard to ignore his pleas. Like leaving your milk glass out of your house cat's pounce range.

"Nope, and no means no. Not until we put our work into our new crew." I kept my voice persistent. Glitch groaned inwardly. "Ya said 'nope,' not 'no,' so technically ya haven't told m' what 'cha meant to say." I crossed my arms. He rolled his eyes. "Fine. But can we do it tomorrow?"

I hesitated, then nodded. It had been a difficult day for the both of us. I would have expected him to be tired. And he did show symptoms of exhaustion, so I got up to prepare his room for him. He said he needed no more than the mattress, a pillow, a bolster, and, surprisingly, he also asked for an mp3 player. "I just thought it would be easier for me to sleep with it," he had said. I obliged, not really thinking about it.

He downloaded a great deal of songs right away; he was so obsessed with the headphones and the music that I decided to be warm hearted, and thus I let him claim them as his. He thanked me and began to play songs with it. After gathering the stuff he needed to sleep at night, I entertained myself by guessing which songs he played, and then asking him whether or not I was right. I aced most of the time, especially with Satisfaction and Mai Ai Hee. He never heard of I Wish For You, however, but fell on love with it once I recommended the song. It was hard not to tutor him dance moves, as I had really wanted to teach him. I had to hold myself back by repeating the sentence _He'll learn tomorrow, he'll learn tomorrow... _

After he was done satisfying himself with the mp3 player, I decided it was time for us to get some sleep. Luckily, it didn't take me long to get the kid tucked in. He smiled at me, eyes still half-closed to keep his hair out of them. "Good night," I whispered before walking out the door. He plugged his mp3 player headphones. I didn't know which songs he played, but I expected them to be slow and acoustic. Maybe something like Maroon 5's She Will Be Loved or Tyga's Far Away. Yeah, I know too many songs. Bear with me.

He shut his eyes and didn't reply. From the faint light streaming behind me, I caught a grin on his face fading into a frown. His happiness subdued into the shadows of the room, and his glowing eyes burned both pale and dark. Worried, I closed the door silently.

Soon I was in my own bed. I missed hanging out with my bros, but I was pretty tired. I turned off the lights and let myself drown in sleepiness.

It felt like no time had passed since then when I woke up. No light shone past the curtains of my window; it must be nighttime. On a hunch, I decided to check on the kid. Glitch's room wasn't too far away.

Groggily, I rubbed my eyes and slowly, quietly made my way to his room door. Walking through the short corridor, my shadow followed me, cast by the one light I kept on at night. As I opened the door, I mused at the fact that I was lucky; the door didn't creak when I pushed it inwards. Inside, the faint light revealed an empty mattress. I tiptoed towards it and confirmed that Glitch wasn't there.

I wondered where he was. What was left was his mp3 player. I scrolled through his immense playlist of songs. His choices shocked me. One song was My Immortal by Evanescence. I quickly recited the lyrics in my head. I left the mp3 player to do the rest.

_I'm so tired of being here_

_Suppressed by all my childish fears_

_And if you have to leave_

_I wish that you would just leave_

_'Cause your presence still lingers here_

_And it won't leave me alone_

I quickly wondered why Glitch was listening to this song. It did not surprise me, however. I felt like there was more to this kid's past than a simple life near the subways. Perhaps drowning his sadness in this melodic symphony was a way for him to stay strong and not break down.

_These wounds won't seem to heal_

_This pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

This paragraph made me wonder what made Glitch listen to this. While listening, I noticed that his pillow was striped with lines of darkness; tears. Were these lyrics too true to Glitch, and did he think that there really was too much that time couldn't erase? Heart pounding, I continued my lyric search.

_When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

_But you still – _

I took the headphones off. I felt bad for Glitch. I couldn't listen to much more without having to confront him. I knew I wouldn't get much of an answer anyway. Was Glitch believing in these words? I put the headphones back on, swallowing.

– _seem to heal_

_This pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

_I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone_

_But though you're still with me_

_I've been alone all along_

I shivered, thinking of Glitch again. I felt worried, more than ever. Was he really that lonely? I resolved to get him to speak, even if all I got was an obscure hint of reality.

Then the music changed and I found myself listening to Untitled by Simple Plan.

_I open my eyes_

_I try to see but I'm blinded by the white light_

_I can't remember how, I can't remember why_

_I'm lying here tonight_

I knew that tonight would have been very different for Glitch, even if I knew nothing of his history. I replayed the scene that occurred when I met him. Dusty shoes, torn clothes, a dirty black leather watch, and every aspect leading to one word: abandonment. He would have been blinded by many... by the world suddenly acting kind to him. Perhaps he worried that it would turn on him again.

_And I can't stand the pain_

_And I can't make it go away_

_No, I can't stand the pain_

Pain... what sort of pain was this? Was it violence? Mental torture? Whatever it was, it was taking a huge toll from him. When I come to a certain topic, he'd become as silent as a rock. He worried me.

_How could this happen to me? I've made my mistakes_

_Got nowhere to run, the night goes on_

_As I'm fading away, I'm sick of this life_

_I just wanna scream, how could this happen to me?_

What happened to Glitch before? Angry, I knew I had heard enough. I got up and left the room, returning only to make it look like I never got in, in case the kid was doing something and would be back.

Without another clue, I decided to go downstairs. I went soundlessly past the kitchen door – and found Glitch holding something I had never expected him to wield.

A knife.

My breath caught in my throat. I hid myself best as I could, though it was almost a guarantee that he wouldn't see me; his eyes were the same glassy emerald green that I saw when I asked him his name. They weren't focused on anything in particular; the delirium he was trapped in robbed him of all caution. He was frozen on the spot, and the flat end of the blade was in a greatly dreaded, deadly position: on his left wrist, above his black watch.

As I watched in sheer horror, he pressed the flat of the blade against his wrist. I knew I couldn't show myself to him; his right hand could slip and the blade could injure him. Slowly, ever so slowly, he lifted the blade. Then I saw him lift it up to eye level. There he balanced it. It was as if he were studying the blade, but I would never know for sure, as he had shuffled his feet so that his back was faced towards me, but I could see a bit of his hands now. Faint hints of light bounced off of the glinting silver surface of the knife, reflecting strange patterns flecked across the dark room. He ran a finger over the flat edge of the knife. I shrank back in fear.

I wanted to run over to him and tell him to stop this nonsense; somehow I knew he wouldn't listen anyway. A small part inside me screamed, telling me to stop him, stop him at all cost. The more sensible part of me told me just to watch. Even if I had a choice, my feet were stuck to the floor and my hands were still in the crooked position of a criminal. I couldn't move, the fear that held me in place was too great.

"No." I stiffened at the quiet murmur he let out. He said more words, but they were hushed and I could only make so little of his speech that it was impossible to capture their meaning. His voice was almost expressionless, without a trace of the laughter and happiness when I offered him to be in my crew-to-be.

Then Glitch was silent again, and he laid the blade on his left wrist again. Then he flipped his hand, so that the knife's flat edge rested on the back of his hand. I heard a soft clinking sound as the knife hit a piece of metal on his watch. Glitch stopped moving at the noise. I saw him hesitate and set the blade down on the kitchen counter. Then his right hand touched his watch, caressing its leather as if it were the head of a baby bird. He said more words, words that, I knew, belonged to him and him alone. The opalescent weapon caught my eye; to my complete and utter relief, I saw not a hint of red on the blade. He had not hurt himself. For now.

Before I could show myself, his right hand groped for the knife handle again. My conscience yelled at me, _No! No! No! Stop him! _Through the doorway I stood, my mind racing at his oblivion. He was still in his trance, moving slowly and gracefully as if he were guided not by mind or choice, but by the haunts if the past.

Then he turned around and I caught the look on his face just before I whipped around to hide. I heard a sound that was similar to the sound of a sword being sheathed. True enough, he was sliding the knife back into its cover. I let out the breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding.

Afraid of getting caught, I did the most sensible thing I could: race back to my room and stay there, hoping and praying that Glitch wouldn't touch that cursed knife again. Faint and shapeless shadows moved about on the floor's surface. I hurried up the stairs, my steps muffled as I moved as cautiously as if I were being targeted with a gun.

I swung the door to my room to a half-opened state. Slipping inside, I left the door open, just a crack. I saw Glitch's lithe, thin silhouette cross the door, blocking all light from entering my room. I shivered. _Don't tell me... _I shut my eyes, trying to banish my dreading thoughts. I struggled to lock them up behind thoughts of him as my new crew buddy, his dance talents, and training him to dance tomorrow. But, somehow, all my thoughts circled back to where I started, and I couldn't put to bed those phobias. It was almost impossible to explain the tornado of twisted feeling coursing through me.

I felt as if forever had passed once I managed to convince myself to check on Glitch again. _Even if he's still awake, I can just scold him for not sleeping. He won't remember to ask me why I'm awake myself. _Steeling my nerves, I got up and prowled to his doorway. Glitch didn't move when the door was opened. After a few second of tense breathing, I braved inside. His face was streaked with tears.

Seeing him like this roused a strange feeling in me. Where was the enigmatic, carefree dancer? Where was the brave, strong-willed, determined boy? Where was he, the Glitch that left me mind-blown, hardly able to believe him to hold and hone such skills? All that was left, all that I could see now, was a broken, confused shell of his former self.

Where was the real Glitch?

**I've... I've finished this at last. - stares in disbelief -**

**To all readers, I thank you for sparing your time to read. I will definitely keep myself busy with the third chapter. Also, I know this contains a bit if self-violence, but you will see little of it on the next chapter, so don't worry. I think the only violence in this story will have occurred in the past.**

**So, yeah. Hope you all enjoy this, took me quite a while to finish it. Also, I will update each chapter after four chapters. Probably add a little detail, fix typos, but I might add a prologue to the story as well.**

**Agent Glitch out, see ya!**


	3. Hi-Definition Dance

**Third chapter is up!~**

**Warning: crazy long chapter... if you consider 4l words as long.**

**Reminder: I don't own Dance Central. Not even the game. Or the Xbox. D:**

I rubbed my eyes, not knowing how long I'd have been asleep. I had spent a good deal of the night hours thinking of none other than Glitch. I couldn't get the thoughts out of my mind.

I was convinced that Glitch had more trouble sleeping than I did. A suspicion roused in my head that he woke up again after I sneaked in. When I saw the shattered reflection of the energetic protégé, when I found his other side. He was a different kid at night. At day, like now, he was living the life of a fourteen-year-old prodigy, trying to come up with our crew name and theme.

I couldn't bring myself to confront him. Whenever I looked at him, my conscience would tear a photo off of my mind's journal, a photo of him holding the knife in shaking fingers. I couldn't speak. My mouth would go dry, and it was impossible to get words through the heavy lump in my throat. I had even rehearsed the sentences I would have shoved into his face, and even that didn't help.

Sighing deeply, I held on to the short, amusing conversations we shared before he went to bed. Other than the time I had convinced him that Glitch was a good name – which eventually led to him begging for a skateboard – I had also been guessing for the songs he had downloaded. It had been a good distraction then, and it helped me get my thoughts in order now. Here and there the memories flashed in my head.

They were entangled with each other, like vines in a grape garden, and comforted me more. I replayed the scenes in my head again. I remembered asking him about which song was his favorite. He did not reply, which had made me frown, but he tossed me a friendly smile, and I knew that he was silent because he liked every song he could dance to. Then I had asked him to tell me about his trouble spots in dancing. Of course, being such a talented dancer, he claimed that he had little trouble in most dances, but he did experience difficulties in certain songs. Warbear, Drop Kick Snaps, and False Start & Gratis to name a few moves, from the Yeah! and Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor) songs.

Absently, I let my thoughts wander about, and I dwelt. Images flashed in front of my eyes, sometimes faster than lightning, other times floating just above my line of consciousness, returning every now and then. Some were faint and obscure, others were detailed and clear as crystal. Some were of my dancing days, others of me alone at home, but most were of the recent changes I had to go through.

There was Glitch when I first met him, Glitch wrapped up in a jacket on the couch with Angel crooning, 'Easy, now, _chico_, easy. Here; I'll show you another move. Now, when you _caminar, _you walk, make sure your hands are in the right position. Wait for the beat to change, then _cerrar! _You stop, and wait for the beat to start again.'

Change appeared in front of my eyes, and the picture swirled and I was looking at an incredulous Glitch holding up a spray can. The face had unsettled me that time, but now it made me want to laugh. His shoulders were raised in a sheepish shrug, and I imagined my face looking as dumb as his.

Next I saw him with his eyes as hard, hard emerald green circles. His face, however, I didn't recognize as his. He did not have the carefree look I found him hold when he danced. And yet, I couldn't see the hurt, heartburnt picture I saw at night. No, this was new. He appeared fearless, steeled, and, well, fierce. This was no memory, but I had the feeling I would see him like this soon. A rebel-faced, readied kid. The perfect image of what I'd call a 'bad boy.'

"_Ahem._" A hand waved in front of my eyes. "Earth ta Mo, can ya 'ear me? Over." Glitch groaned and snapped his fingers directly in front of my nose. I jerked awake immediately. Glitch was sitting next to me, his back twisted to face me. His cheeks were brushed with faint dawn and his expression masked, disguised by a lopsided grin. _Good riddance, _I thought. I knew the smile was faked.

"Mo, bro, come _on, _how exactly are we gonna come up with anything when yer staring up in space like that? We might as well call the crew Space Stare an' be done with it." He sighed exaggeratedly. _Or we could call it the Shakespearean crew, because you're a really good actor. _I only just managed to bite back the retort. For some reason, all I had to do was take a glance at his face and see the misery, half-hidden behind false happiness, even if hid eyes were still obscured by his low-hanging hair. No longer did I have to stare intensely at him, which would cause him to shrink back defensively.

He still had his wristwatch on. I began to think up reasons for him to treasure it as closely as Angel treasured Aubrey, but Glitch waved his hands in the air, obviously requesting a proper discussion. Reluctant to leave my thoughts, I heavily dragged myself away from my mind and rounded up all my wits before settling down. Of course, we would start with a theme for the crew before we named it.

"Well... as you know, the most obvious thing we've got in common is our dance style, which is the main reason I decided to take you as my protégé." I put more effort and thought into my crew. Glitch's actions were becoming a distraction for me, so I pushed then away from me. "So we should find a name that describes us. Our dance style, more likely."

"Yeah," Glitch put in, "That's what I've been trying to tell ya before!" He nudged me, irritation clear through his voice. "So why don't we get on with this? Yer takin' longer than I'd have thought."

I rolled my eyes again. "Sor-ree. I was busy waiting for you to show me you're worth getting a skateboard."

Glitch huffed and, without another word, stood up and did another front flip. "Satisfied?"

"Nope. I meant about the crew."

"Well how am I gonna be able ta do anythin' when ya ain't no good at helpin' me?" He rolled on. "So if ya think we should name it somethin' that matches our dance style, there's a thousand names at our disposal, an' all ya gotta do is pick one. Theme's obviously pop-it-lock-it an' our style o' music."

I nodded as he glanced downward, mentally checking on his list of names. A list I hadn't realized he had made. He had practically used his mind as a pencil and wrote down at least a hundred names. I yawned as he recited them. "Analogue, I kinda like it, but jes doesn't sound right... whaddaya think? Megahertz maybe? Or Cybernetic, or Systemectric, or..."

Patting his back, I said, "Whoa, there, slowdown, Nanobyte. G, kid, you gotta take a while and re-analyse the situation. But, yeah, I got nothing, so continue."

He smiled and began muttering again. "Synchronization, Mynd-Droid with a Y, or–"

I cut him off. "See, there, you're focusing too much on fancy words. You don't need a long, techno name, just a short one would be okay. Like, I don't know," I paused, "Vision, maybe, or Byte, but I think we need to loosen our grip on only technological words."

He thought for a moment. "Then I guess I'm clueless."

I shouldered him. "So I guess we're on the same leadless position. I give up, then. Want a bit of dance practice?"

Without another word, he shot down the stairs to the floor downstairs, past the kitchen. Worried about the knife incident, I dashed after him at doubled speed. Catching up with him soon after, we raced each other to the place where I usually practiced, near my boombox.

Glitch obviously thought of this as a game, and he let out a mischievous laugh. He knew his surroundings well enough now, and once he made it there he skidded to a stop, performed a rather impressive backflip, and landed on his feet. He rested his hands on his slightly bent knees, panting. When I looked at him, he gave me a grin, sort of sly for his age. Like the Cheshire Cat or something. I shrugged at him. "What?"

He replied by holding up an ice pop and licking it. I slapped my forehead, uttering small words at my own oblivion and my protégé being so sneaky.

Finished with his small delicacy, Glitch smiled. I glanced at his eyes again, and saw that the last of his worries were gone. He brushed some of his hair out of his eyes and picked up my boombox remote. "Uh, help please?" he asked, placing the remote in my reach. I nodded, knowing he had no idea how to use the thing yet.

I chose Mai Ai Hee. He stood up. "Warmup? Ya wanna do it with me?" I did, but opposite of him so that I could see his movements. It was an easy dance, and he didn't seen to have any difficulty with it. After all, moves like Woo and Shoulder Step were easy to remember.

He began to laugh at Hammer. Then it was Maestro March, and soon he was doing the finishing move. It was a quick way to get him ready. That way, I knew we could proceed to more difficult songs.

I selected 'Satisfaction' for him, and he looked happy at my choice.

From the beginning, I could see Glitch moving with the robot-dance style he had. His moves were stiffened and realistic at moments, especially the intro moves and Push Me. Then Electric, and I placed myself a distance close to him so that I could dance along. Through my peripheral vision, I saw him, moving with the same beat I had. When it came to the Overload move, and freestyle kicked in, I paused the music.

He froze in a complicated move. His right arm was raised, his left one parallel to his body, and his feet were... well, it was hard to explain the move. Not that I had to describe it. The more obvious thing was that he was crestfallen again. "Aw, man, how am I gonna get ta show ya I'm worth a skateboard if ya can't let me dance?"

I laughed. "Well, how about we do the freestyle together? Just to see how we can make something work as a crew."

"Okay." he nodded. "So what 'cha have in mind? 'Cause I got no idea."

I scrutinized him again. He didn't move under my searching gaze. "Can you do a head spin?"

His jaw dropped open. "Ya expect me ta do a _head spin? _Are you kidding me?" He did a shaky handstand. With his hair falling off of his head, leaving his eyes uncovered, he rambled on, "And as ya can see, gravity can make m' dizzy!" He twisted his body and dropped down.

I laughed. "You'll make it someday. For now, I think the handstand would be suitable enough."

We soon settled into our freestyle routine for Satisfaction. Other than the handstand, we would do a line of breakdance moves and even include difficult moves which involved me and him mirroring each other to him doing a backflip. Lucky for us, the freestyle session was short. Then we did our final rehearsal along with music, and he finished the rest of the song. Who knew we would spend so much time on one song? I mentally wrote a note to be more efficient.

Still, it was a fresh start, and I was pretty glad at the result.

We worked on the Yeah! song again. And at last he would get the Warbear move down. He looked pretty happy at that. The song did have a no-freestyle version, so we stuck to that routine. I had to admit, he looked pretty awesome doing the dance. One could take a hazy glance at him and know that he was born to dance. I lost myself in the music.

I let him do the dance one last time to make sure he got it. He did the moves easy, beginning to feel the groove from Club Bounce. I watched as he did Warbear again. It was flawless.

Once he was done, I told him he did a great job. Personally, I would have rated the dance performance as a nine out of ten. I kept that to myself, even though I knew he'd shrug the thing off soon after. The easygoing protégé had begun to develop some respect and he looked up to me. I knew I had to put some real work into shaping him up.

Then I let him do Hey Baby on medium. I knew he couldn't be ready for it on hard. Afterwards, he was breathing quick, so I let him rest. He did great on the song, probably around 95 percent. I didn't mind that.

"That was a _high-definition _performance there, yes it was," I complimented. His face lit up again. "That's it!" he yelped, and punched his left fist into his right hand, and the fingers of his right hand clutched the left one tightly. "Fits like a glove," he said enthusiastically. "_Perfect_. So much better than before, so much better!"

I thought he was exaggerating about his performance, until he spoke up again, mentally shoving _his_ words into _my _face instead of the other way around. "Glitch and Mo of Hi-Def! No, Mo and Glitch of Hi-Def. You're obviously the leader." He faltered. "Oh, yeah, but if you're the leader, you'd be the one to approve of the name... if it were you who thought of it I'd go with it fine. But, yeah, what do ya think?"

At any other time, I would have been rolling on the floor laughing at his on/off accent. But now I had to think about his idea. Somehow, he was right; it fitted like a glove and worked like a charm. "Hi-Def, eh? HD... sounds just about right... I'm not really sure about where this is going, but you do have a good point. Maybe we can work it out."

He struck a pose. "Lucky ya said what 'cha did, and at the right time too." He took the remote and ran his thumb around it until he found the 'off' function and deactivated the boombox. "An' I guess it'll work out if we want it to. Well, we already got a theme, Mo, but we need our outfits."

"You're one step ahead of you. Slow down."

"I already _did, _Mo."

"No, you haven't." I pat him on the back. "Think about it first. Mo, Glitch, and Hi-Def. Does that remind you of anything? We need to find the right way to interpret our theme."

"But Mo, can't we just get on with the outfits already?" he whined impatiently.

"Do you have something in mind already?" I countered.

"Uh... no."

"See that? Just slow _down, _for goodness' sake."

"Fine," he grumbled.

I sighed. Well, he _was _only a kid. I stopped by at the kitchen to get a glass of water while Glitch lay in the couch pondering the situation. Sipping the cool, icy water, I set my narrowed eyes at the knife, just under the visor of my cap in sight. I shook the thought off. Glitch was different now. I set the glass down.

Walking upstairs, I realized how quickly things were changing. Only yesterday I had found Glitch – well, either that or the other way around – and took him here with me. Then I had found his skills, and through that I found my buried diamond. Or emerald, I should say, according to his eyes.

My hands slid on the rather slippery surface of my doorknob. I found my laptop on my desk. It was a light laptop, so I went downstairs with the thing still folded up and tucked comfortably under my left arm.

I set it down on my lap while sitting on the couch. Glitch peeked in to see what I was looking at, but lost interest while the laptop was still loading and went somewhat deeper into the apartment. Apparently, I had typed 'hi definition glitch' on my Google search. I went straight to the images, and... well, I wasn't so successful in my search, so I typed 'TV glitch' instead.

I was bombarded with pictures. Even so, only a few caught my eye. One in particular featured a multicolored TV screen in bars. There were three rows, one tall, one short, the bottom one about two-fifth the size of the first one. The colors were white, yellow, magenta, green, blue, and a bit of black. I depicted the colors on a shirt. "Glitch, kid? I think we found our color theme."

He looked up from whatever it was he was doing. "What?" he called, coming up to me. His messy hair disturbed his eyesight again, so he causally blew them aside. He seated himself next to me.

"Well? What do _you _think of this? I mean, even if I'm the leader as you say, I'd still want an opinion." I touched the screen gently. His eyes lightened. "Awesome! We could get those for our outfits!"

I chuckled. "Wasn't that obvious? Still, I think I remember having something like that..." I went back to my room to rummage in my clothes again. Glitch followed close behind me. Sure enough, I found my V-neck shirt with the same pattern. "I think I got this the other day... yeah, that's it. Don't worry, G, I think I remember where I got it, I'll get another for you."

He shrugged. "Fine... it _does _look nice, I suppose. An' the colors' all lightened up, too."

Now that he mentioned it, it was true. The colors were both lightened and modified. "Well, why are we still here?" I asked. "Let's hit the shop before they run out!"

In a flash, we got to the shop.

I led the way, with Glitch strolling coolly behind. Luckily, we found one left. It fitted G just fine, but the neck area was a little different. Nevertheless, he liked it. Still, we decided to browse around to check if there was anything else we might need. I'd think I had all I needed, but Glitch didn't.

It looked to me as if he had already thought up a new style for himself. "Do you have any biking gloves and elbow pads?" he had asked. I remembered having them, so I just nodded. Another thing I noticed was that, even with rows of stylish watches on display, Glitch didn't even set his gaze on them. I doubted the fact that he ever took the thing off.

He asked me if he could get some yellow socks. I told him yes, as I knew it was a nice touch to the outfit. Then he ran up to me with green straps in his arms – suspenders. They were a neon colored sort of green, but I still disapproved of him using them. However, he gave me that mischievous grin again, and I shrugged and added them to my list of purchases. He also chose a pair of black, baggy pants.

Of course, we also spent a good while looking for Glitch's casual clothes, so that he didn't only have my old and distended clothes for him. He found a good number of jeans and shirts, and he even took a liking to a black leather jacket. He did look nice with it on him.

We were already on our way home when he set his eyes on one more shining treasure: reddish-purple shoes. He tried them on with the newly-bought socks right after the – rather creepy, I might say – shopkeeper commented about Glitch's messy, dirty shoes. I had to admit that it matched him too, and so we ended up buying two pairs – one for him and one for me. The shopkeeper smiled evilly at us. I shivered. _That shopkeeper is as bad as Jaryn, _I had thought. Obviously, she had taken Glitch's advantage for us to buy the shoes. Either way, I was still glad that we got what we wanted.

The one last thing that caught Glitch's eye and practically pulled him towards it was a red bandana. He liked it so much that he insisted to carry it by hand and twirl it around his wrists, just toying with it. It made me laugh. The neckerchief was already beginning to wrinkle.

Once we got back home, Glitch ran to his room with his new clothes wrapped in his arms. I left the biking gloves and elbow pads at his door and went back downstairs. He came out only with the shirt and pants. I opened my mouth to add my opinion about him going to use the suspenders when he said, "Wait, I'm not done yet, y'know," forestalling whatever it was that would have spilled from my mouth.

He took the left glove and put it on before he carefully unbuckled the watch, stuffing it in his pocket. I noticed the fact that I still couldn't see his left wrist very well. Most of it was covered by the glove. Then he picked up the right elbow pad and slid it up his arm, showing me his soft side for asymmetry. He took the socks next, but decided not to wear then in the house. Well, not in the house except for the place where I practiced dancing. There, I used shoes.

The bandana went in next, tied with quick fingers. He straightened it self-consciously, fiddling with the knot ends to make the bandana fit comfortably around his neck.

Then he fastened the suspenders. He finished quickly, but instead of pulling them to his shoulders, he just let them hang loosely, often touching his legs. I expected him to put his arm under one and put it on and repeat the process the other, but he didn't. "Well?" he asked.

"I stand corrected..." was all I could wrestle from mind. He did Warbear again. "I knew it!" he exclaimed cheerily.

"...but it's missing something," I finished. "Oh?" he murmured distractedly. "Yeah, you're missing a little neon, chin-up." I thought he was missing something, all right.

"What, m' green eyes ain't enough for ya?" he protested.

"Not when your hair covers them up," I pointed out. My mind replayed the scene of him doing his handstand. "Hm... I think I have something in mind," I said, and dashed to the apartment bathroom. I found a formidable amount of hair gel in a can. I walked back to a curious Glitch who was waiting. "Here," I said, handing him the spray can, and added, "I think your hair looked pretty nice when you were doing that handstand. Maybe you could style it like that and have your eyes be seen clearer."

He approved of that. "I'll try it," he said, and accepted the can from my outstretched hand. I waited while doing my own outfit. Of course, I would use the same shirt that he wore. I decided to still use my cap, but to add a pop of color I would also use my tiger hoodie. Then, well, I guess I would use the shoes that Glitch and I bought earlier.

I went to my room and changed. The shirt went on first, then I pulled on my jeans and looped a magenta – yes, magenta, _not_ pink – belt around my waist. I just thought it would bring out more of the 'color' theme Hi-Def would have. I put on my cap again, and added a little silver by putting on a metallic watch on my left wrist. Then I decided to wear my hoodie differently, so I just let it hang from my dark-colored cap. I admired my look for a while in the mirror. Then I went back to the couch. Glitch was still inside, judging by the closed door.

He took surprisingly long trying to fix up his hair. When he _finally _opened the door, I saw his eyes widen. "Mo! You look amazing!"

I returned the favor rather smugly while standing up and making my way to him. "So do you," I said before I actually _looked _at him. When I did I was sure that I was as surprised as he was. His hair was _green. _"You look great to, Lil' Man!"

Well, only a streak close to the left side of his head was green. All of it was stuck up in a spiky do. "Thanks," he said. "I just got the paint from the back."

I smiled. "Consider it yours, then. You can take it to your room if you want," I suggested. He nodded. "Will do."

Only then my handphone rang. I dashed to it, as I had left it on the couch after I stood up to greet him. It was Angel. I answered with my usual prank, "Y-yeah, you reached Mo, he's not here, leave a message. Beep." I laughed. "Just messin'. Angel?" I switched the phone to speaker mode so that Glitch could hear Angel's words. Big mistake to do that and still keep the phone close to my ear. Big, big mistake.

"_Idiota!_ Didn't I tell you to call me, _desmemoriado? _Forgetful!" I wanted to slap myself yet _again _for forgetting. What was wrong with me?

"Sorry, sorry! I just got caught up with Glitch."

"Glitch?"

"The kid. Turned out he's the best dancer I've ever seen for his age." I glanced at him with my eyebrows raised, even though I knew my cap visor covered them from view. He laughed playfully. I lowered my gaze, embarrassed. "He's my new dance partner. We've got ourselves a crew."

"_Amigo! _You've made progress, _si. _Well, here's your chance to show your crew off. Dance party at Aubrey's – _Miss _Aubrey, satisfied?! – sorry, _danza _at her place, so you can come!" I chuckled to myself, hearing Aubrey yell at him from the background.

I looked at Glitch. He gave me a thumbs-up. I looked at the phone.

"We'll be there."

**So, anyone up for a fourth chapter? Reviews are for Glitch!**


	4. Out On The Dance Floor

**Fourth chapter! Sorry if it's more of a filler chapter. I'll be working on the fifth chapter soon! Also, in reply to the reviews I've been so kindly given:**

**My new buddy PunkRoseBlitz: Thank you! You'll learn about Glitch's past at some point, but until then, I hope the songs will be satisfactory. It took me a while to find the songs, so I am quite pleased with the result. I will update as often as possible!**

**Guest: To me, yaoi-fic isn't so bad, but I just wanted to give tired readers something different. I will keep it up, as you wish!**

"We'll be there," I said again. "_Fantástico!" _Angel exclaimed.

Out of curiosity, I asked, "Which crews will be there for the dance party?" and he answered with a sure and certain "Lu$h will be there, _absolutamente, _and Emilia said she'd come over with her new crew. Taye's busy with preparing her sister or whatnot, so she won't be coming, but I'd say the _danza _will be petty crowded, _si._"

"Right, then. See you then." I hung up, sticking my index finger into my ear and twisting it. Angel's shout into my ear hurt. Glitch, on the couch, rolled over and shot me a mischievous smile. His eyes twinkled. I grimaced, my ear sort of blocked. I swallowed and the odd pressure gave way. "You ready to show the world what Hi-Def got in store?" I challenged Glitch.

"Ya bet! We gon' storm up the dance floor!" He leaped off the couch. He raised his leg again, but I stopped him. "Whoa, no flips. Save 'em for later," I chastised. He let the foot down and grumbled. He grabbed his socks and pulled them on.

It wasn't long before we were dashing around here and there, looking for who-knows-what. "My shoes! Where are my shoes?!" Glitch yelled from downstairs while I was busy looking for Glitch himself. He had been running here and there, and when I heard him I yelled back, "I thought you left then in your room!"

"You're the one upstairs, can't you get them?!" was the retort I received. I didn't think I deserved it, but I grabbed the shoebox anyway while muttering under my breath. "The little cheek," I huffed while I went back downstairs. I tossed him the box, and he caught it nimbly. "Thanks."

I jammed my own feet into my shoes, grunting and cursing. When I finally got done, Glitch was too. He was anxious. "Do you think I'm ready?" He didn't look nervous, just wanting a reassurance. I didn't blame him for not feeling as confident as before. He was, after all, young and even a little naïve.

"Why did I not tell Angel I'd come alone? Because you're the other half of Hi-Def. If I'm coming, you're coming with me, and you're as ready as you'll ever be. Besides, you won't be the only one new to this thing. Angel _did_ say that Emilia would come with a new crew member. And Angel and I will back you up," I encouraged. He smiled. "Thanks, Mo," he spoke gratefully. I pat him on the back.

We walked to where Angel told us Aubrey's boat was docked. It wasn't too far away, and Glitch was bursting with energy, so I thought it would be good for him to spend a lot of it while walking so he wouldn't get too hyper on the dance floor. He strolled on with a new air of positivity.

Night was settling its dark blue wing above us, and at first I had feared that Glitch would... well, do what he did last night, whatever I would call it. But he didn't. He was different tonight. I didn't know why; maybe it was because we were out for a dance. Maybe it was because he never really did that, not until last night occurred. I forced myself to drop the topic.

Tonight would be an important night for Glitch; besides, Hi-Def would be making a first appearance, as well was Emilia's crew, whatever it was called. I wondered who this other dancer was. Well, Glitch wouldn't be the only one new to Dance Central. Personally, I was a little worried about his age, but I told myself to stop worrying and just enjoy the night.

We got there soon enough. We were the last one to arrive there. Angel was waiting for us. He greeted my first. "Mo! Nice outfit, _estupendo!_" Then he turned to face Glitch. "_Hola, __chico. _Glitch, right?" he questioned, extending a hand. Glitch nodded and they shook hands. Angel continued, "Don't worry about tonight. I'll help you get used to the place, _si? _You'll be all right. But don't mind Aubrey – _Miss _Aubrey." He rolled his eyes. "She's taking forever dressing up again."

Angel was wearing his crew outfit. Completed with the background of the yacht and night sky, along with the dark chopping waters of blue, all the colors just matched together, all falling into place. I glanced self-consciously at my own clothes. Even so, I calmed myself by repeating the sentence of _Hi-Def will feature in all this, Hi-Def will win, Glitch is here too, he'll help me get though, _and all that.

Glitch, on the other hand, was wide-eyed and overexcited, even though the walk should have worn him out at least a little. Angel laughed and reached out to pat the energetic kid on the head, but Glitch ducked. "Hey!"

He lightened my mood up immediately. Angel let out his devilish grin and said, "All right, _chico, _all right. We all get hair issues anyway, no?" Glitch just groaned. "Can we get _on_?" he complained.

I turned to Angel. "Where's Emilia?"

He glanced around. "I think she's already on board, _amigo_. You should go meet her new partner. Come to think of it, I think we should all get on the _yate, _no?"

Glitch piped up, "Yeah, c'mon!"

Angel let him go on first, while we trailed close behind. "By the way, _amigo, _what's your crew name? And the _chico _– he's changed. Different."

I shrugged. "That's how he is. And we came up with Hi-Def as our crew name. He like it, and so do I." He nodded, apparently not too displeased with the name. He sped into a jog, beckoning for me to follow. "Why don't we catch that little _chico _of yours before he gets too far?"

"Sure." I caught up with him and we were soon on board. I heard the engine roar and felt the boat move forward and out to the waters. Glitch was already the center of attention. Music was booming from speakers and I heard the song Say Aah by Trey Songz. Glitch was dancing on hard, and a distance away from him were Emilia and her new partner.

The guy was standing close to Emilia. Both were in matching outfits. _He's _gotta_ be Emilia's new partner, _I thought.

Emilia wasn't too different from the last time I saw her, even if she was in a different outfit. She wore a red-and-white sports leotard, a black jacket with some red and white on it, and a pair of high white socks with red stripes. There was a band around her forehead and her hair was in a bun. There was a wristband on one of her hands. She also had shoes with red, white and black on them.

Her partner was a muscular blonde. He was in a black vest above a gray jersey which was tucked over a long sleeve. The red sleeves had the word 'Riptide' written all over them, and they were in red and white, and so were his basketball shorts. He had a knee pad on one leg and some sort of ID card hanging from his waist along with a whistle. He wore a black wristband, and his sneakers were white.

I left Glitch to his dance and skirted the edges of the boat until I made it to them. Emilia was talking, but she broke off when she recognized me. "Mo!" Her partner shifted, and I saw that his eyes had a friendly glow.

I came over. "Hi, Emilia." She looked at me up and down. "So you're the one who brought the kid here, eh?" she glanced at a show-off Glitch doing a backflip while the song was on freestyle. I grinned. "Guilty. How bad has be been acting?" Briefly, I pictured Glitch spraying green paint all over the place. "Not much, really. Bodie here," she indicated her partner, "just let him take over the dance floor after he was done. The kid jumped in first chance."

"Bodie, huh? Name's Mo," I said, offering a fist. He gave me the fist bump. "So, Riptide, eh?" I asked.

Emilia shrugged. "His idea."

While we conversed, I kept one eye and one ear open for the protégé. He was already finished with the first song, and now he was leaning on the boat railing, with his eyes set appreciatively on Angel. The Spanish was dancing to Give Me Everything by Pitbull. Glitch was intent on watching every move, and he barely hesitated before shuffling next to one of Angel's backup dancer, and he began to groove along. He did Club Walker, then Dodger, Scoop & Bow, and a lot of other moves. Even now, it was still a surprise to me that he memorized a vast variety of song routines. This kid truly was an enigma. Out of this world, that was for sure.

Emilia soon realized that I was beginning to ignore her. But both she and Bodie were the friendlier dancers, and they let me tell them about G in return. I decided to tell them the story from the start.

"Well, I was just walking home from the subways when he crashed into me at breakneck speed. Like a meteor," I began. Bodie grinned and said, "He's on fire, that's for sure. The atmosphere probably had a hard time slowing him down." I shook my head, but smiled as I did, watching Glitch.

He was smoldering with bravery, and his contagious, happy-go-lucky attitude infected everyone else. Angel danced with an added effort. Glitch's rhythmical fever was taking over the dance floor. Emilia, who was watching the kid too, nodded for me to go on. "He crashed into me. I didn't know whether he was a dancer or not at the time, but his health dropped, so I took him home with me. Angel helped, and after he left, Glitch told me he was a dancer. Not really, he said he wanted to be one, and he showed me potential all right. It wasn't long until he proved himself qualified."

Then I thought back to last night. For a second, my happiness dissolved into the memory like sugar in a bitter cup of tea, except the result wasn't nearly as sweet. Bodie realized something was wrong. "Hey." He nudged me. "What's wrong?"

I hesitated. Should I tell them? They could turn on me. But I knew Emilia well enough, and if Bodie was anything like her, he'd listen to me, and Emilia would give me a little advice, even if it was only to tell me that if I confronted him, I shouldn't be harsh. So I took another deep breath and confessed, "It's just Glitch. He's been acting strange since last night. He was _nothing _like he is now. He... He held a knife to his wrist when he thought I wasn't looking." I murmured. I had let the cat out of the bag.

Emilia showed me that she got the message not to tell anyone. She glanced sideways at Bodie, and he nodded. She gazed at me with worried eyes. "_Why _would he do that?"

Out of the corner of my eye, just in my eyesight, Glitch was dancing to a newly played song, the one titled I Wish For You. He did Twisted Snap, Crossed out and Pick Up Step. He was improving well, as I had only taught him the dance routine yesterday. He memorized it quickly. No on else was dancing with him, so he had everyone's attention. He mastered the moves, and I still couldn't find the answer to Emilia's question. _She's right – why _would _he hold a knife to his wrist? _

"I... I don't know," I croaked. "He just did one night. I couldn't believe it. And even now, I can't seem to bring it up to him. Ever since I first met him and asked him his name, he silenced. Whenever I tried to ask him about his past, he would never reply." I stopped as Glitch struck the finishing move. He would be here soon.

Emilia nodded sympathetically. Bodie frowned and jerked his head towards a rapidly approaching Glitch. The new Riptide dancer said, "Don't worry." Then he did a my-lips-are-sealed gesture, and I was pretty convinced that he wouldn't spill the beans. I saw Glitch come across to us. _I Wish For You too, Glitch, _I thought, repeating the thought multiple times as if it were a prayer.

"Hey, Mo, did ya see m' last move? I thought I had screwed it up, but I got it right!" an enthusiastic Glitch called. "That's great, Lil' Man, I forced out, faking a smile. _Two can play _this _game, Glitch. _And, luckily, he didn't notice anything. Bodie rescued me from having to act for much longer by offering a high-five to the protégé. Glitch tool the bait and decided to talk to the lifeguard-dancer, leaving me to sigh in relief. Emilia put a hand on my shoulder, and said, "Let Bodie do his job. He's great at helping people lose themselves. Just look at Glitch and see him as he is today, not last night."

I nodded. "Thanks, Em." She let me follow the two new dancers, but as I watched them, I let then have their own time. Bodie was really friendly, which helped lighten my cloudy mood. I let my gaze sweep across the moonlit dance floor. Another song was playing, which was DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love by Usher featuring Pitbull. I decided to dance it down. Bat Wings, Club Walker, and Pulley were some of the moves that I used. Sometimes throughout the workout I saw Glitch, talking with some of the older dancers. He was adapting well.

After I was done, Aubrey made her dramatic appearance, much to Angel's dislike. She strutted through like a real movie star and danced with Emilia. The two went on well enough, with a prank call once or twice between them. At least poor Angel had a chance to have a bit of rest from his posh girl.

Glitch was at a corner of the dance floor, practicing his flops again. Worried that he would get seasick or dizzy, I brought him down to lean on the railing again. "What do ya think of all this, Mo?" he asked, green eyes like jade. I shrugged. "To me, this is just one dance party. But it is important to me in a way, but I'm sure you and Bodie would be the ones to enjoy this the most. He's a little too easygoing, don't you think?" He nodded in reply, before fixing his eyes on the dark, hungry waves slapping at the boat. "This wasn't what I expected. I used to think of it as much less friendly and more rivalry, if ya know what I mean."

I nodded. I let him go on. He distanced his eyes into the surrounding shadow, even if colorful lights lit them up. "But being a dancer was my dream. And here I am. I never thought I'd make it. Ya know, I felt like forever would get me first. But it didn't." He grasped his left wrist, brushing against the soft glove.

"I understand, Glitch. This must be a lot to swallow, especially for one as young as you. But you'll make it. Even if you feel like it's the end of the road, there's no problem with that if you can take the thorn path." I held his shoulder, and he straightened up gratefully. "So, want to dance?" he pleaded.

I gestured to Aubrey. "Not when the diva is out and about. Believe me, don't get in her way," I warned. He nodded. "I've had enough of m' flips anyway," he huffed.

We let Aubrey dance to the music while Emilia backed her up, leaving Bodie to watch close to Angel. It was obvious that the two had properly introduced themselves before. Glitch was also watching. Once Aubrey was done, I could see that she wanted some 'girl time' to share with Emilia, because they walked to a lesser crowded place of the boat together. Glitch got up and grinned. "Dance now?"

I let him go, but he refused to budge until I heaved myself to to a position next to him. Two backup dancers took up the rear, and the musical beat changed into Replay by Iyaz. Glitch was on my left. And when the lyrics played, well, it was clear that Glitch was having a great time.

_Shawty's like a melody in my head_

_That I can't keep out_

_Got me singin' like_

_Na na na na everyday_

_It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay_

When the chorus played twice, once as an intro and the next to keep the beat going, Glitch did Push & Club Point, Head Crunch/No Worries, Switch Sweep, and Headphone Shake. I did the moves as well, establishing the fact that we were dancing on Hard. Then the first verse played.

_Remember the first time we met_

_You was at the mall with your friend_

_I was scared to approach ya_

_But then you came closer_

_Hopin' you would give me a chance_

Glitch and I did Slide Number 1, then Cross Step X, and then Cross Step. There was a little bit of difficult footwork in this, but both Glitch and I pushed through. Then it was Crook Step, which was to raise one arm and the opposite leg, followed by Scoop Step Center.

_Who would have ever knew_

_That we would ever be more than friends_

_We're real worldwide, breaking all the rules_

_She like a song played again and again_

We did Falter, which wasn't so hard, then Frat Walk. It was a move that meant we had to pull one leg in front of the other with our hands. And then one of Glitch's favorites, Rule Breaker. Then we did Slice Walk.

_That girl, like something off a poster_

_That girl, is a dime they say_

_That girl, is a gun to my holster_

_She's running through my mind all day, ay_

Then we did Mark three times. Mark was a move that had pointing in it, and was done before three different moves. One was Poster, which was a move that followed the lyrics. The other was Tantalize, and then Holster. Afterwards, it was time for Spring Loaded.

_Shawty's like a melody in my head_

_That I can't keep out_

_Got me singin' like_

_Na na na na everyday_

_It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay_

As the chorus replayed itself twice, I had no trouble with the moves. Neither did Glitch. I remembered the time I had taken teaching it to him. He had known the routine already, but he had never practiced it before, so it took a little extra effort. I had trained him quite early in the morning, and I knew I had done a poor job tutoring him when my thoughts were glued to the knife incident.

I resolved to do better. Glitch had tolerated me then without a hint of what had happened. For once, I was glad that I had fooled him. I felt guilt gnaw at me for a flash of a second, but I shooed the feeling away and concentrated on the dance.

_See you been all around the globe_

_Not once did you leave my mind_

_We talk on the phone, from night 'till the morn_

_Girl you really change my life_

_Doing things I never do_

_I'm in the kitchen cooking things she likes_

_We're real worldwide, breaking all the rules_

_Someday I wanna make you my wife_

_That girl, like something off a poster_

_That girl, is a dime they say_

_That girl, is the gun to my holster_

_She's running through my mind all day, ay_

We did the same moves as the first verse, so this dance wasn't too challenging, but still showed everyone the fact that, if a battle was in order, we were still formidable rivals. Even if Glitch had an ego that was too high for himself.

_Shawty's like a melody in my head_

_That I can't keep out_

_Got me singin' like_

_Na na na na everyday_

_It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay_

On the third chorus, I was starting to really feel the beat and get into the groove. The crowd was lessening their attention to us, but I knew they'd want an encore. As it was, heads turned to us again as we danced.

_Ay, na na na na na na na_

_Na na na na na na_

_Shawty got me singing_

_Na na na na na na na_

_Na na na na na na na_

_Now she got me singing_

Side To Side & Clap had made Glitch a little confused before, but now he got it right. Lo 'FO Step was a move that had us moving to the music again, stepping forward and then backward.

_Shawty's like a melody in my head_

_That I can't keep out_

_Got me singin' like_

_Na na na na everyday_

_It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay_

We froze in the finishing move. Glitch did a front flip, prideful to show everyone that Hi-Def had potential. He breakdanced as an exit, and I found myself caught in the beat, and soon I was following his lead before he signaled to me, and then I backflipped, and the crown watched in awe as Glitch did the handstand, then, as I watched, he twisted and did a short but impressive head spin. The people around him cheered, and I did a massive leap above him. He hunched into a crouch as I soared above him, and I landed on my feet. Glitch used his hands as springs and launched himself briefly into the air before landing by my side.

Everyone clapped again, and as Glitch and I exited, I saw the glow in his eyes again. So vivid, so bold. I fist bumped him and he went to rest. I leaned on a nearby railing next to him.

Bodie and Emilia took up the dance floor together, but I had no inclination to join them after such a tiring dance. We watched closer to the back, but Glitch had a difficult time watching as he was short. I encouraged him to push through the crowd so that he could see. "You know where to find me, after all." At that, he stood straight up again and he smiled. "See ya."

The music began to feel distant from me, and I plunged into memory again. I remembered yesterday, when I found him holding the blade. Now he was a changeling, no longer the weak boy that was more than willing to give in to a challenge that appeared impossible. He was a completely different and new person. I hoped that I would never see him so far away, caught in thought, ever again. This Glitch, the one I had danced with, was lethal as well, but in a way that made everyone even more enthusiastic to try and defeat him. This Glitch I knew better. This Glitch was my protégé. This Glitch was the prodigy.

Knowing that calmed a part of me. I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The water below rippled and the color it reflected reminded me of the light that had bounced off of the knife. It made me wince and I tried to forget it.

A moment later, the kid came back. I noticed that the song had stopped and the boat had turned and was making it back to the dock. When the boat slid to a stop, everyone departed, the crown dispersing. Glitch in particular, however, waited until there was no more lively chatter before making his way down to the dock.

We waved goodbye to Bodie and Emilia, who had ran off to leave the other crews behind. Angel and Aubrey stayed while Glitch and I took our leave and soon we were walking back again.

"What did you think, Glitch?"

He looked thoughtful. "I don't know," he admitted, "but I had a good time. Bodie's friendly, Emilia's a good person, Angel's helpful, Aubrey's, well... ya can tell. And the backup dancers were pretty nice too. The boat was awesome. How did Lu$h afford it?"

I stifled a yawn. "They can afford anything. I won't be surprised if I see them in their car soon."

"Uh-huh."

"Glitch... you were great back there. I'm sorry for not helping you as willingly as you might have thought, I was just... distracted, but I'll owe it up to you. First thing tomorrow, you'll be training again, and I'll introduce you to battling. Besides, you need to work on your Street Style outfit."

He sniggered loudly. "Oh-kay, don't worry, I'll get it done. And it's okay, I don't mind. I think we made it well enough with that Replay song, didn't we?"

"Sure ya did, bro."

We fist bumped, and as we walked into the night, the moon glowed bright silver, its color clearer than any blade. No knife could match its shining light. The thought settled me once more.

_One day, Glitch. One day, and you'll be the greatest dancer ever. _

**I am working on the fifth chapter already, and I also have an idea for an AU fanfic, but I will keep it out of mind because I really don't want to keep everyone on a cliffhanger for too long. I know this chapter doesn't end so dramatically, but I will try making more off hangers just for the joy of leaving my readers in suspense :D**

**Sorry if you found any mistakes on this, I haven't had the time to proof-read.**

**Reviews are of love!**


	5. Jerk It!

The next day, I was fiddling with the zipper on one of my hoodies, which had a bit of string stuck to it. Last night had been peaceful, and when I checked on my protégé I saw no hint of sadness or misery. Hopefully, he had finally gotten over it. It was about three o'clock and G was upstairs, probably brushing up on his dancing again. I had taken him in for another session of training, and he had enjoyed it. For once, I truly felt like a real mentor. He and I had created more freestyle routines and I had taught him how to dance to Sexy Chick again. He had done well, with a few troubleshooting issues here and there, and then we worked on Fire Burning. Then I had promised him that we would go out to search for the skateboard I knew he deserved, and we would probably be looking for it at four. We had put his Street Style outfit on hold for now.

I heard footsteps descend from the stairs. The kid was skipping down to the first floor. He called to me, "Mo, I think I've got that Sexy Chick routine right at last, but I want your opinion, can ya help me?" He was wearing jeans, a bright green T-shirt that matched his hair stripe, and the long-sleeved black leather jacket I had given him. His hair was still spiked, without a strand of it over his eyes, but the green was starting to fade. On his left wrist was the watch.

At last, the string came off, and I discarded it and let Glitch show me how well he was doing. I followed him up to his room. He turned the music up and I watched him throughout the routine.

He had improved, predicting the distance it would take for him to return to his center spot while doing Rocking Horse. He did Less Than 3 easily, and I saw that he no longer moved with hesitation. When he got to Metronome, he dusted the move off of his list of difficulties, proving that he could do it better. Then he did the chorus again. The Push Me move was different from the one in Satisfaction, which had given him a hard time mastering this version, but he did it perfectly this time. When he finished with the bow again, I gave him a thumbs-up. He took his jacket off and dropped down to his mattress. I resolved to get him a bedpost when I had the time. He stretched, then loosened his muscles into a relaxed position, careful not to mess his hair.

With that, I grinned. "You'll get that skateboard in no time, Nanobyte."

He looked back at me. "Mo, ya still got paint left, right? I was thinkin' of, ya know, painting the word Hi-Def on the board, graffiti style," he said. "Sure we got paint," I told him, "and you know where to find it, so take all you need."

"Thanks, Mo," he said.

"So that's that. I'll be downstairs if you're looking for me," I called over my shoulder before turning back to the stairs. "Okay," he replied shortly. I jumped down the stairs two at a time and went back down.

An hour later, Glitch practically exploded from the stairs and shot himself into the living room at lightning speed. Did I mention the fact that he was probably going at two hundred miles per hour? Because I think that would have been how fast he was going. "Mo! Can we get the skateboard now?" he hollered, launching himself and making me drop my remote. "Okay, okay, all right, calm down, at least let me turn the TV off!" I roared, holding him back. I picked the remote up again and turned the television off, and the sound coming from the speakers was abruptly cut off. I groaned, turning to face the smoldering, hyper protégé. He had his jacket on again, his hair was re-colored, and the watch on his left wrist looked polished and shiny.

"C'mon," I growled, though amusement still held its grip on me. Humorously, the protégé followed me, humming with excitement. I rolled my eyes again, especially when he self-consciously straightened his leather jacket sleeves. He looked at me innocently. "What?"

I sighed. "Nothing, really. Come on, unless you want me to go there alone and get you a pink board," I teased. "_Bro! _Glitch ain't no skateboarder if Glitch ain't got no good skateboard!" he protested hotly. I laughed, surprised by his sudden antic. But then, Glitch was very unpredictable.

We got to the store, snap! Glitch was madly rummaging through all the skateboard designs and colors. There was also a display with stickers that could be applied to skateboards, but Glitch didn't show any interest in them. He just kept on looking for that one skateboard he wanted.

Eagerly, he took out one skateboard in particular. He laid it down and put on steady foot on it, then rolled the thing back and forth, testing it. Then he put his other leg on it, but he remained balanced. To my questioning, he let it down and put it back. "Not my style," he said decisively. I shrugged and he pulled out a different skateboard.

The area he was at was quite the place to test it, so he put one foot down and pushed himself towards a ramp. To my surprise, he was at top speed when he reached the ramp, and he performed a jump, flipping the board under his feet – a kick flip. Then he landed safely, and told me he liked the board. It had a standard grayish color but somehow suited him. I paid for it, and I let him ride it home while I walked. On the way back, he performed maneuvers that I never thought he could do. I really _was _blown away this time. He did loops, jumps, and flips. It was pretty astounding.

I left him to his new device, and he gratefully began to roll on to the apartment. I had to run to keep up with him. At a drop where the road dipped down like a valley, he jumped about three feet directly forwards before landing on the street again. He turned to the alleyways, still showing off to me. It was a real wonder how he didn't get hurt, not even once. We got home later than I had expected, but it was fine with me anyway. He got off of the board and, with a foot, caused the front end to fling to his hand, and he took it with him. "Thanks again," he said with feeling.

He ran to the back of the apartment, obviously to get to work on his skateboard. It wouldn't be much of a shocker if he spent hours back there without even remembering to practice with me again. _Well, _I thought, _let the protégé do what he wants. _I felt thirsty. After a few second of thinking about the kitchen again, I decided it was worth it. I had hated the kitchen ever since I saw the knife incident, and even more so because I needed to be there on a daily basis. I grabbed a glass and filled it with cold water, and even added an ice cube. Swallowing the freshening water, I wiped water off of the glass's slippery wet side. My hand instantly became ice-cold, and I touched my cheek with it. The cool temperature felt nice. I rubbed my neck, trying to get rid of the heat coming off of me.

Glitch was still hustling and bustling in the back, so I was left without anything much to do. I took a shower to cool myself down, even though it was drawing to a sunset soon. I waited, not really doing anything until he came out.

When he did, he showed me his skateboard. It had the graffiti I had expected, and he did it with excellent work too. I told him to leave it somewhere to dry, and then try it out again tomorrow. I threw him a towel and told him it was his turn to shower. He rolled his eyes but followed my words.

He complained all about his hair again, insisting that he would get his hair right again before he would practice. Grudgingly, I let him, and it took him far longer to get his hair right again. The green strip hadn't faded yet, so at least it saved a couple minutes.

Now we were rehearsing again. The song we were dancing to was You're A Jerk by New Boyz. It was moderately easy, so we did it on Hard.

We began with Point Step. I demonstrated the move, and Glitch dismissed me by, "Yeah, that's easy. I can get it right." His voice displayed a slight arrogance, which was to my dislike, but I already knew he had quite the ego. "Fine, then," I retorted, "see if I care when you get the move wrong." He looked as if he didn't care, so I got down to the next move, Low Jerk. I showed it to him, and he did it.

I taught him the Dip 'n' Stop move, and he did it with a frustrated grunt that said, "Mo, I _know _all this. Can't we get on ta somethin' harder?"

I felt like he'd crossed the respect border, but I stopped myself from getting angry by asking him to do the Reject King. He tried, grumbling, but as I watched I would have reluctantly given him an 'almost' for his attempts. "Come on. You need to practice that one."

"Fine," he said, and tried again, shuffling his feet into a more comfortable position before raising his hands and starting over again. Half-satisfied by his results, I decided he could move on to Jerk Blocker. It was easy for him to do, which made him more overconfident and scornful again, but he was subdued by Sir Douglas Step. Trying to get his arms into rhythm with his feet, he kept trying until he got it right. Once he did, however, I asked him to do it in the opposite direction, which caused him to mess up again. He topped the move in both directions in about five tries, which was good enough for me.

Next came Sexy Jerk, which ended in a clap. That was simple for him, and so were the following moves: Dewey D, which had pleased me, Row Wit' It, and Yum Yums. After that, it was back to Low Jerk. He did it again with ease, which both satisfied and displeased me, because we could move on but also made him more impatient. Then Dip 'n' Stop, followed by Reject King again, which he passed through just barely. To get things right, I had him go through the chorus three times, so that his moves were flawless. Then we went back to Jerk Blocker, followed again by Sir Douglas Step and Sexy Jerk. Then we repeated most of the moves again before we did the finishing move. I praised Glitch, which he took without a reply. I let him simmer down for a while and then asked him if he wanted to do another dance.

He halfheartedly picked Yeah 3x by Chris Brown. But, as we began with Snap & Cross, Army Man, Ring The Alarm and Carter Snap, his mood lightened and he began to laugh again. I let out a mental sigh of relief; I knew it was hard to get past an angry Glitch. Luckily, he seemed to know this dance routine well and had practiced by himself, because he made it through the dance without much of a fuss. One of the moves he told me he liked was Spin & Reset. Not long after, I decided that he was much more than competent to this dance, and I let him rest. "You were great! I'm blown away to pieces already, and I guess you deserve to choose the songs you're going to practice tomorrow!"

With a wide smile and his eyes shining, he said, "Really? Can I try the skateboard again tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," I admonished. After all, it was night again.

We turned in for the night soon after.

The next day, Glitch begged for me to let him go out on his own with the skateboard. He pressed me with, "Mo, please? I really want to test the skateboard again." and I answered with, "Well, you know the area well enough now, so sure. But for goodness' sake, _be back _by twelve. Your choice of practice song," I reminded him.

"All right! I'll be back by twelve, then! And even if I don't, y'know where ta find me, right? See ya!" he whooped. He had referred to a large space of cemented ground where there were skateboarding ramps and obstacles opened for public use. I never really went there often, but we passed it on the way to Aubrey's boat.

"Bye," I called back to him, but he was already gone. Strangely, he ran towards his room instead of the front door. He dashed back, his quick-moving blur a flash of color passing my doorway. "My watch," he explained. "Oh." I realized that he really liked the watch. There was a clock mounted somewhere close to the skating arena, so why bring the watch? Maybe he felt more secure when he had it on his wrist.

He dashed outside, and I heard the sound of scraping wheels on rough roads. Soon the noise lapsed into silence, leaving me alone at home until twelve.

I decided to take his absence to my advantage. I got to his room, intending to find any trace of his past, if any existed. Too bad he took his watch with him; I always wondered why he kept clinging to it. To me, it was just a black strap that always stuck to his left wrist, and nothing more, if he didn't care so much about it.

I hesitated, wondering if this was a good choice. I forced myself into his room, but found little more than his mp3 player. As I browsed through his songs, I found only few of them to be rather sad. His room was quite tidy, even if it was closer to nothing at the moment. His clothes were stacked at a corner, and his mattress was smoothed out.

Digging through his items, I found little success in what I was looking for. Sighing, I went back to my room instead. Once again I wondered about the kid.

His personality was... strange. One minute he'd be having the best time of his life, the next he would be mute as a rock. Moments when he was glad were whisked away by sadness like autumn leaves in a winter breeze. I thought about it again. On the dance floor, he was a real elite killing machine, taking down his rivals and dancing like the world depended on it. As a normal kid, he was a skateboarder, a rebel, a kid who practically screams '#yolo,' and a daredevil who takes crazy risks. He'd jump out of a two-story building just for the joy of it. And about the past, I could simply estimate the pain he had once gone through. I didn't bother asking him just yet; he'll admit everything one day.

Bored, I decided to catch up with him. Locking the apartment door, I checked my own watch. It was thirty to twelve, so he could skateboard for another half-hour before I'd get to work on him. It wasn't too hot, and most of the alleyways were shaded anyway. Getting there was pretty easy, a short walk was what it took, or a very brief skateboard ride.

Glitch was skating across a line of stairs leading downwards. He jumped the steps, flipping the board under his legs again before landing and taking down a high ramp. He used his right hand to turn him back to the ramp, the board sticking to his feet as if it were glued. Then he jumped down the ramp before spotting me. He waved. I raised my hand in response and watched as he showcased his knowledge on skateboarding. His moves became more and more complex, confusing, and challenging. There were other skateboarders there, but only a few were as good as my protégé.

I checked my watch again. "Twelve," I called. He obediently stopped his stunts and came to me, not a hint of regret in his eyes. "Dance practice?" he said, flailing around as he lost his balance and jumped off of the board. He picked it up, brushing dust off of its wheels. "Sure," I replied coolly, and then rebuked him softly with, "You should get elbow and knee pads next time you visit this place. And have a helmet too."

He grunted, obviously thinking about his so-called 'perfect hair' but he still nodded. I promised him I would get him one when we had the time. He requested a neon green and black one to match his highlighted hair. I accepted, not really caring about it just yet, even if it meant safety. Perhaps he just wanted to live up to his 'bad boy' thing.

"By the way, Mo, how many dancers are in Dance Central?"

I faltered. "Well, a good deal, really. You've met Emilia, Angel, and Aubrey; pretty much the most iconic dancers we've got. You've yet to meet my friend Taye; she said she'd be getting her sister to be a dancer. You'd like them. And then, there's the ninjas, Kichi and Shinju. They're pretty cool, too. There's been word going round that they're going to make a crew themselves. And then there are the Glitterati..."

I spent the walk home describing crews, dancers, and everything else I knew about Dance Central to the curious Nanobyte. He was pretty interested in meeting all of the dancers. I would have to keep close tabs on their next dance party.

I unlocked the door back to my apartment, and Glitch ran up to his room. He quickly changed into a clean shirt and took off his shoes and socks. He caught up with me in the dance room. Luckily, he didn't sneak in any ice pops.

I taught him the dance to the song Teach Me How To Jerk. It was his choice, and he already knew the dance routine, which saved us some time. I turned on the boombox and watched him work his magic. First up was the chorus, which was a repeated line of 'Teach me how to jerk' played over and over again. Glitch did the Low Jerk and Reject, as well as Side Jerk.

_Now when it come to the jerk_

_We got the potion_

_They see the push_

_And leave they suckers open_

He did Jump Clap, and Da Push. He did those moves with confidence, but at least he wasn't as arrogant as last time. I had grown to enjoy training him, especially when the two of us were in the right mood for dancing.

_I'm rejected it might leave my back broken_

_Now tell me if you can jerk in slow motion_

_Like this, you know that my truth stick_

_I'm sure you see my whole squad with them clean whips_

Then came Reject Pop, which was sort of difficult, and Glitch did it with his hands in the wrong position, but got it right soon after. It was followed by Slow Mo Jerk and The Stranger.

_Now watch me clean dip_

_You see the clean kicks_

_Try to jerk like me_

_I guarantee it'll leave your jeans ripped_

Growing more dauntless, he did Clean Dip 'n' Kicks. His green eyes shone and I could see an electric spark grow in them. They glowed brightly, the emerald circles showing his passion for dancing.

_Pause, drop, go, stop_

The move for this short line was pretty significant: P.D.G.S. Glitch could do it just fine, and he managed to beckon to me in an inviting sort of way.

_I let my chain bang, gang swang, go watch_

_Girls tell me when I jerk I look so hot_

_Cause' I be jerkin' like I'm tryna_

_Make the boat rock_

After it was Chest Iso and Sexy Jerk. At this point I decided to join him, because soon it was time for freestyle, and that meant major breakdancing. As I shuffled into position, he grinned devilishly at me. Like the rebel I knew he was.

_We killin' the game but we hurt in the street_

_They say that push on fire_

_We work in the heat_

_So if ya tryna do the dance_

_Work with your feet_

_Rock slow, drop low, and jerk to the beat like_

Together, me on the right and Glitch on the left, we did Dip It & Stop and Side Reject. Glitch shrieked with maniacal laughter and we began to dance the floor down.

_Teach me how to jerk, teach me, teach me how to jerk!_

Once we were done, Glitch began to pant. His chest rose and fell and he dropped down to the floor, his arms and legs stretched out like a starfish. He rolled over, groaning, and pushed himself upwards, running to the kitchen. "Ice pops for me!" he howled. "No way," I barked back, "not on my watch!" I ran forward, cackling as I tried to catch up with him, but I was too late. Not that I minded.

Glitch took two ice pops, one blue and one green, and sprawled himself on the couch. I took an ice pop for myself, landing heavily on what little space he left for me on the couch. While we rested, I chose the song Technologic by Daft Punk to listen to. I thought about the song. Maybe we'd train with this later on. I was completely and utterly sure Glitch would _love _the song.

_Buy it, use it, break it, fix it,_

_Trash it, change it, mail - upgrade it,_

_Charge it, point it, zoom it, press it,_

_Snap it, work it, quick - erase it,_

_Write it, cut it, paste it, save it,_

_Load it, check it, quick - rewrite it,_

_Plug it, play it, burn it, rip it,_

_Drag and drop it, zip - unzip it,_

_Lock it, fill it, call it, find it,_

_View it, code it, jam - unlock it,_

_Surf it, scroll it, pause it, click it,_

_Cross it, crack it, switch - update it,_

_Name it, rate it, tune it, print it,_

_Scan it, send it, fax - rename it,_

_Touch it, bring it, pay it, watch it,_

_Turn it, leave it, start - format it._

Glitch didn't dance to it, but he asked me, "This later?"

"Sure."

Right then, I got a call from Bodie. "Hello?" I greeted, too lazy to use my usual prank. Besides, I still couldn't bring myself to do it when I got a bawl from Angel in return. I winced, remembering the toll it took from my ear.

"Hey, Mo. You got your crew ready? There's going to be this... I don't know, really, Dance Central is going to have a 'Crew Throwdown' coming up. Word's up that you'll need your crew ready, with each dancer having at least two outfits, a venue, and showing up in their crew look. The crews that'll be there are Riptide, Flash4ward – Taye and her sister, that is – Lu$h, Ninja, and Hi-Def. So get that ready, okay? A lot of other dancers will be there. In two weeks."

"Got it. Thanks, buddy," I said before hanging up. I clapped my hands, establishing that I wanted Glitch's attention. I told him, "Bodie just rang up, and he told us we gotta be ready in two weeks. For some reason, we gotta get you your Street Style outfit, and find a ourselves a good venue for Hi-Def. A lot of dance crews are going to be there."

Then I turned , grinning. "So... crew throwdown, eh? I'm up for it if you are, Nanobyte." I fist bumped him.

"Ya got that right."

**So, wanna see the next chapter? Review! Not trying to be pushy here, though :P**

**I'm working on the sixth chapter, but don't get your hopes too high. I'm updating the previous chapters and also adding a prologue to the first chapter.**

**Also, I would like to recommend PunkRoseBlitz's 'Dancing Diamond' story if you're up for something to read. It's made up of 16 chapters and about 46k words, as I last saw it, and even though it focuses on Oblio and her (Rose's) OC Luce Valentine aka Diamond, it's an amazing story and I'm sure you'll love it. **

**The chapters aren't too short and, in my opinion, the storyline is pretty awesome. For Glitch fans out there, you could say that he plays a small part there, but it does consist of Mo looking for a protégé, too. I guess I'll stop spilling the beans for you and beg for you to read it again because it's totally worth reading.**

**As for me, well, I only have this story and my humorous Evanescent fanfic. I di have a crossover, but no on ever reads it anyway. You could check out Evanescent if you want, but there's little to read there and more pranking. I guess that I'm putting most of my effort into this story.**

**Reminder: I ain't no own Dance Central. Wish I did, even if it was just a copy of DC3.**

**Agent Glitch out!**


	6. B-Boy Stands For Bad Boy

As hours passed by at night, I checked on Glitch once. He slept, still with the watch on his hand. I still couldn't get my hands on the thing, but now I just pulled my thoughts away from him and tried to fall asleep. As I rested, my hands behind my head, I began to set up a schedule for me and Glitch, starting tomorrow. We needed to be prepared for this crew throwdown. Analyzing the weaknesses of the other crews was one of the things we had to do. Glitch had to master every dance genre that was familiar to Dance Central, too. It was sort of hard for me to imagine my electrolytic apprentice doing a classic dance. It was more of an Angel thing. And what if Glitch was asked to dance something harder? We had to prepare, we just _had _to.

Because of that, I had to really put a lot of effort in teaching him. There was no room for him to complain, and no room for me to get into an argument with him. That would be the last thing we needed. The daunting prospect of Glitch and me not getting along when we had a huge crew throwdown coming up made me nervous. At least Glitch looked more confident than me. As a dancer, I don't think anything could faze Glitch. As for me, well... Maybe I was a little too worried. Dance-offs were for fun, after all.

Come to think of it, how bad could things get? We would be readied. It was only two in the morning, so we had plenty of time. I already taught him a couple new routines. I could take him out to find our venue. I had a couple places in mind, like his skateboarding arena or the subways. Glitch would be able to think up a good outfit for himself, so I guess I didn't need to help him. Hopefully, he'll not wear the watch, so I could check on the thing. It was like the thing was artwork that only stuck close to Glitch.. Even so, I think he'd keep it close to him at all times. If Dance Central required another outfit, I think he'd still not let go of it.

Only about fourteen hours had passed since Bodie rang up. The digital clock next to my bed showed me that it was 02.16. Glitch had learned the routines for the songs Technologic by Daft Punk as I had predicted, Run by Gnarls Barkley, and DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love by Usher. It had been quite the workout, as I had limited the both of us to learning songs of higher levels. I would have taught Glitch the easier songs later. He told me it wasn't much of a good strategy, and so we came upon the decision to start training with the easier routines tomorrow.

I was wondering about how well the other crews were going. Lu$h would be the best prepared, as they were the first crew to be formed, even if Angel flirted with Aubrey every time I saw them together. It was quite amusing, and yet still a wonder to everyone else about how they actually chose to be a crew.

Riptide, Riptide. Judging by what I've seen, Bodie and Emilia got along well. They would make great progress. Maybe they had even decided on a venue themselves. Bodie looked like a lifeguard, so they would probably choose a beach of some sort.

That night, when I saw Glitch, he had clutched his left wrist so tightly, I didn't know how blood could course through. His entire body was tensed, and his face showed a struggle. Perhaps he was just having a nightmare. I hoped it was. With the crew throwdown only two weeks ahead, I couldn't let something bad happen between us.

I gazed at the digital clock again before closing my eyes and forcing myself to step back into the world of dreams. As it unfolded, I found myself calming down.

I slept for a content five hours before I woke up. The little Nanobyte was already awake, and preparing a quick breakfast of a sandwich. He had changed into a brown shirt and jeans. His hair was already in its usual spiky do, but oddly the highlight was an electric yellow instead of the neon green I was used to seeing. "Hey," he said as I walked down the stairs. A friendly smile was plastered on his face, but his eyes were still blurred from sleepiness. "Mornin,' kid," I yawned, covering my mouth slightly with a hand. "How long have you been up? And what's with the new hair?"

He shrugged. "A while. Just thought I'd spice things up a bit," he said while holding up a strip of lettuce and placing it on his slice of bread. "So what're we gon' do today?"

"Probably finish the warmup routines first. Like, Sandstorm by Darude," I suggested. He nodded and took a plate and put his sandwich on it, and walked over to the couch. "Kay," he mumbled between bites of the sandwich.

Making my own breakfast, I watched as Glitch stroked his leather watch, a fond glow in his bright green eyes. He tugged at the black strap, getting it to fit tighter around his wrist, then slipped a finger underneath the watch.

I sat on the couch beside him. I was so used to his green hair that this felt new. "Maybe that should be a part of your Street Style outfit," I recommended. He nodded, visibly knowing what I was getting at. "Yeah, I thought 'bout it earlier." he said, resting one elbow on the couch. He finished his breakfast quickly afterwards, and took the plate back as well as get a glass of water.

I still didn't like the idea of him alone in the kitchen, but I let him stay there. He came back and wiped his mouth. After a while, I finished my own meal. Glitch obviously couldn't hold himself for much longer, so in about five minutes he jumped out of the couch and did a handstand. "So, practice time?" It was a wonder how he could do it without losing his breakfast.

"Sure, Lil' Man, in fifteen minutes," I said.

After watching an impatient Glitch try to hold himself still, I called him and told him that he could practice now if he wanted to. I did a quick move, following him to the dance room. He beamed, and came after me close after.

He skidded into the room and went straight to the boombox, looking for the songs he wanted. He had been choosing the songs ever since I taught him how to use the thing. I had already categorized the songs by level, so it wasn't long before he found Sandstorm.

He passed through with great ease and enthusiasm, so we continued with the rest of the easy songs, which took about twenty minutes each just to perfect his movements. My margins were narrow, so it wouldn't be wrong to face a bit of trial and error. Glitch didn't mind.

We moved on to the slightly harder songs, which were also known as simple, such as Cee Lo Green's Forget You and we also worked on perfecting him with Say Aah by Trey Songz again. Glitch found this enjoyable, and he began frolicking when it was time for freestyle. After a brief rest, Glitch declared that he was tired and that he wanted to check out the subway I had told him about.

He kept his yellow hair streak on but changed into a black T-shirt with yellow lightning bolts crisscrossing it. He put on full skateboard gear instead of just one glove and elbow pad, and took the skateboard. On his head was a helmet I had found in storage. It wasn't black and green as he had wanted, but it would do until I could get him a new one. "Can I?" he asked, referring to him using the board to get around.

I nodded, propping our boombox on my shoulder, and he got on the board. He skated ahead, but turned back and slowed down every few minutes to make sure he was going the right way, requesting guidance from me frequently. We made it to the subway quick enough, and he carried the skateboard under his left arm.

It was an underground subway that had an opening above at a point, and Glitch though this was a perfect venue for Hi-Def. Personally, I had wanted him to see the skateboarding arena again, but he was so excited that I decided that it wouldn't hurt to let the protégé choose once in a while.

We got to a platform between two railways. I set the boombox down and worked my arm around, trying to rid myself of the stiffness in my shoulder. Glitch did a complicated breakdance move. At that very second a train sped by, but Glitch didn't react to it. I supposed he would get used to it. Glitch favored the high opening, and the place was just perfect according to him. Even I had begun to like it here.

We got things arranged and walked back home soon after. "So we've found ourselves a good Hi-Def turf, tomorrow we'll find out if the public will like it as ours. I've danced there before, and people don't mind." I clarified on the way.

"Sure," said Glitch while skateboarding. His green eyes darted upwards, and I followed his gaze. He was looking at a dark gray cloud that hung heavily above us. "We'd better scoot," I concluded. Glitch nodded, and we hit the road quicker than usual, with the kid on wheels leading the way. We made our way home only seconds before the cloud downed the streets with water.

"So... stuck at home," I declared, raising my voice above the drumming rain. "We can practice later."

"A'ight, Mo." Glitch took off his right glove and elbow pad, then went for the left glove. He hesitated, then made a run for his room, the sound of his shoes thumping on the floor covered by the steady sound of the rain.

I shrugged, and went after him. When I got there, he was busy buckling the watch onto his left wrist. The skateboard gear, including the helmet, lay in a neat pile. He noticed me leaning on the doorway, and he shook his head sheepishly. "What?"

"Nothing."

He made a grunt, almost inaudible. He took his shoes and got up, taking out the headphones and mp3 player.

The rain made it almost impossible to go outside without getting completely drenched, would be a while before it would subside. I went back downstairs, hauling our boombox back into the dancing room. Once the short task was done, I rubbed my forehead with an arm. Seeing as the rain had not yet stopped, I rested on my own bed.

Glitch came to me with a wide smile on his face. "Practice now?" he whined.

I stood up. "Sure. What song?"

He shrugged. "Any," he said, obviously not caring about it.

"Toxic?" I suggested with an evil grin, knowing just how much he hated the song's choreography. Glitch squirmed under my gaze. "You're kidding," he insisted. "I'm not dancing to that even if ya shove a cotton ball in mah throat!"

"Yeah," I rolled my eyes, "like I'd do _that._"

"Ya might. And I ain't dancin' to Toxic," he said while crossing his arms.

"No?"

"Nope."

"Fine, fine, kid. I was just kidding. You said any song, didn't you?" I laughed, squeezing his shoulder. "What about Grenade?"

He lit up. "Yeah, that'd be nice," he grinned. The humor and laughter didn't last long, though.

The steady fall of the raindrops echoed faintly from outside as the music synchronized, like the rush of a stream caught in a melodic fanfare. The heartbreaking lyrics of the song weren't what Hi-Def would usually dance to, but Glitch danced to it with cold determination. His concentration was fixed on getting the song right, and the playful glow in his eyes died to a more careful, perfectionist light in the orbs. As he danced, I observed him closely, noting each twitch and vibration.

And I began to notice just how _perfect _he was. His moves were graceful now, a complete difference from the technological and robotic dances he had grown to like. As I watched, a tear ran down his cheek. But in a short while, he turned away from me to wipe it off as if it were a drop of sweat. But he couldn't hide the sadness in his eyes. No, that he couldn't. Those green orbs showed something I had seen before. Were these lyrics, like before, something that he held close to his little heart?

I would never know until he told me.

He finished the dance and closed his eyes. The rain still echoed, and my protégé sniffed loudly and rubbed his forehead with his right arm. When we made eye contact, I saw that he had recovered from the sadness. Which was a good thing. "Flawless," I said without doubt of my words. He grinned back at me. "Thanks, Mo!" he hollered while punching a fist in the air triumphantly. I laughed and elbowed his shoulder. The jab made him shriek, "Ow!" loudly, but then he noticed my humor and giggled. "Can I get another popsicle?" he begged. I chuckled. "In this cold? Really, Nanobyte?"

Nodding, he probed he again. "Come on, Mo! Please?" Again, his antics made me want to laugh. After a while I let him go for it. He yelled his thanks over his shoulder dashing for the kitchen again. I felt a slight twinge to follow him, but I held myself. He came back holding a glass of water. He plopped on the couch and took huge mouthfuls. He let out an exaggerated sigh and put the glass down, sprawling on the couch. "Are we doing another dance soon?" he asked.

After a while of thinking, I shook my head. "Nah, you look a bit tired there. If you want, practice Technologic later."

Brightening, he gave me a thumbs-up and nodded. "A'ight." Nephrite jade eyes blinked, and he rolled up into a sitting position. He coughed once, but briskly said, "I'm okay." His words made me shrug. "Suit yourself," I called distractedly while digging my fingers in my pocket reaching for my phone. The digital clock showed 16.23 and the rain had begun to lessen.

The kid coughed again, but quickly cleared his throat. I smiled. "That's why you shouldn't have too many popsicles in this weather," I scolded. He just grunted while I placed my phone back in my pocket. "Mo," he began, "who's Eliot?"

The question caught me by surprise. "Who?" My reply made him roll his eyes. "Eliot," he repeated. "Angel mentioned his name once. Out of all the dancers, you haven't told me about him yet," he pronounced. I nodded. "He's a robot," I explained shortly. His eyes widened. "Could ya re-define that?"

He made me laugh. "You heard right, Lil' Bit. He's pretty friendly, and it seems like he used to be a kid too." I tried to recall what I knew about him. Glitch would definitely want to know everything. "I don't know how, so don't ask."

The kid nodded considerably. "He dances?"

"Yep." Silence.

With a grin, he asked me if I could teach him another routine. Of course, I said yes. And then he got ready to dance to Technologic. Daft Punk was awesome, and Glitch visibly loved the song.

We started with structure. He had a bit of difficulty getting the Top Shelf and Twist-O-Tap moves down at first. They looked easy, but in others' eyes it could just look messy. I had him freeze in the middle of each move and maybe pull up his hands a bit, fix the position of his legs, and get him to shift his body weight to the right side.

Surprisingly, Break In, Puppeteer, Fresno Low and High Fives were really easy for him. Those moves were robotic, so you could say I wasn't all that shocked. Doing those moves flawlessly saved us a lot of time. So was the move Wave Lean. When I showed him the move, he scoffed, "Pfft. They should've given us harder stuff for this song," which made me roll my eyes. He was too confident. Again. I slapped him on the back, and he yelled, "Hey!" accusingly.

"If it's that easy, get this one down," I said, and showed him a hard move that didn't even belong in the song. He grumbled, "No fair, that one isn't even part o' the Technologic routine, Mo." I shot back with, "Well, if you can get this one right, maybe you'd do better at Techno!"

He groaned, then hollered, "Fine!" before he actually got the move down for real. He wowed me, but I was still a bit uncomfortable with his arrogance. I tried to calm myself down, and he cooled a bit too. "Sorry," he muttered at last. I nodded and taught him the next move as of nothing had happened.

When we were finally done with the song and he stopped in his finishing move with a relieved sigh, he stretched. "I think I dislocated a shoulder," he said jokingly. I mumbled, "Yeah, right," and he laughed. "No, really. Man, that hurt." I let him spin his arm around in order to get his shoulder back to comfort while I took out my laptop and turned it on. That made him stop spinning his arm around like a windmill and run up to me. "Ey, can I borrow that?" he asked with interest. I groaned inwardly. "Fine."

He grinned. "Thanks," he murmured without even looking up from the screen. I looked in curiously. "What 'cha doin'?" I questioned as I leaned in to see. He shrugged. "Just Internet surfin'," he said. I just shrugged and said, "Suit yourself."

While he did whatever it was that he would be doing, I got myself another glass of water. I thought I head a couple odd noises from where my protégé was, but I ignored them. When I came back, he was already finished. And he had this sheepish look on his face, and I knew something was up. Before I could even speak, though, he rocketed at two hundred thousand miles per hour towards his room. I didn't really think about it that much.

When I walked back to get the laptop, I saw it on the table on the far end of the room. Getting to it wasn't so easy. The entire damned floor was _covered _in shiny butter. And there was pretty much no way for me to get there without slipping.

I had opened my doors up to the worst prankster in history. I learned that a few days after. And I didn't know whether to regret it or not.

Dang it!


End file.
